Girls Soccer: Pascack Valley moving onto N1, G3 semifinals
Indians advance to play Northern Highlands on Monday
Elizabeth Spadafino dribbles the ball. Pascack Valley beat Wayne Valley on Thursday to advance to the state tournament semifinals.
In a matchup of schools with “Indians” as their nickname, No. 5 seed Wayne Valley hoped to upset the No. 4 seed Pascack Valley. It was not meant to be, however, as the higher seeded Indians are the ones that are moving on to the semifinals of the North 1, Group 3 Sectional Tournament.
The Pascack Valley girls soccer team won its North 1, Group 3 quarterfinal game on Thursday night, shutting out Wayne Valley 2-0. PV won its second straight game in this year’s state sectional tournament, following up a win against Paramus by the same score.
The PV offense did its job against Wayne Valley, scoring two goals, one by junior Amanda McGlone and the other by senior Kelly Smith. Seniors Danielle Freeman and Nicole Franklin each tallied an assist.
With 17:20 left in the first half, McGlone scored off a deflection of a free kick, and with about 20 minutes remaining, Smith scored off a header.
Not only was the offense successful for Valley, but the defense put forth a strong effort, as well. Senior goalie Erin Flanagan had 5 saves and pitched a shutout. With 26:35 left in the first half, a Wayne Valley player kicked the ball high towards the net. Flanagan jumped up near the top of the goal and deflected the shot into the crossbar.
“Honestly, I just went up for it, knowing if it went in, it was going to bring the energy down,” Flanagan said.
Pascack Valley coach Amy Lombardo was happy with how her team played against a tough Wayne Valley team.
“I think we worked very hard [on Thursday], and we finished our opportunities,” Lombardo said.
Pascack Valley will face Northern Highlands, the number one team in the state of New Jersey, in the semifinals on Monday at 2 p.m. at Northern Highlands Regional High School. PV fell to the Highlanders in the semifinals of the Bergen County Tournament in late October by the score of 5-1, and are looking to bounce back.
Northern Highlands (19-0) presents quite the challenge for PV, but the team is confident in its ability, no matter the opponent.
“I think we’re gonna give them a good run,” Lombardo said.
