Valley Sports Week in Review 10/11 – 10/17

Nolan Wasserman, Sports Writer|October 18, 2021

Evie Higgins

Dylan Criscuolo raises his arms in excitement after a Valley goal.

Monday 10/11:

Tennis vs Teaneck | Valley 5 – Teaneck 0

– Going into the final week of their season, the girls took down Teaneck 5-0 Monday afternoon for their second win in a row. This moves them up to 5-14 on the year with one match to go.

Volleyball vs Bergenfield | Valley 2 – Bergenfield 0

– The girls kept the win streak going, starting out the week with a dominant 2-0 win over Bergenfield, taking the first set 25-14 and the second 25-8. Kaleigh Higgins led the way with 19 assists, 5 digs and 5 aces, along with Sabrina Arcilla, who had an impressive 12 digs.

Tuesday 10/12:

Tennis at Westwood | Valley 5 – Westwood 0

– In the final match of an up and down, but encouraging, year, the team finished strong with a spotless win over Westwood, shutting out the Cardinals. They finished 7-8 in their first season under coach Daniel Phillips, winning as many matches as they have the last two seasons combined.

Boys Soccer vs Pascack Hills (Zack Latteri Night) | Valley 3 – Hills 3 (2OT)

Ethan Schwartz fights off a tackle as he looks to make a play for the Panther’s offense. (Evie Higgins)

– On their annual Zack Latteri night, the boys faced a strong Hills team in what would prove to be a thrilling game. After going down 2-0 early, the team battled back, with Michael Caminneci giving the team hope with a goal before halftime. Hills scored again midway through the second half, and the game seemed all but over, until a hard earned Max Van Gyzen goal was followed by Ian Hagen’s first career goal, which couldn’t have come at a better time for Valley, sending the game into overtime. Neither team would score in double OT, ending the game in a well deserved tie for each side.

Girls Soccer at Pascack Hills | Valley 2 – Hills 1 (2OT)

– At the same time as the boys game, the girls also took Hills down to the wire, however, they were able to manage a better result. Going into overtime tied 1-1, after a first half goal from Julia Conjour, the girls never stopped fighting, and were eventually rewarded with the Celina Bussanich game-winning goal to push the team over the district rival.

Wednesday 10/13:

Volleyball at Westwood | Valley 2 – Westwood 0

Taylor Grady sets the ball to Nicole Buckley. (Olivia Jackson)

– The red hot volleyball team kept the win streak alive against Westwood, with a dominant performance. Having won 7 of their last 8, it seems like Valley can’t be stopped. Wednesday’s win was a true team performance, with 6 PV players combining for 13 aces in the shutout.

Thursday 10/14:

Cross Country Big North Championship | Boys – 3rd Place | Girls – 4th Place

– The cross country team, both boys and girls, ran their league championship meet at Darlington Park on Thursday. On the boys side, the team finished 3rd in the National Division, led by a 5th place finish from Michael Pizzella, who finished the 5000 meter race in 17:52. Patrick Kurts (11th place) and Connor Oates (12th place) clocked in together at just over 18 minutes, and Christopher Martino and Aaron Ng finished out the top 5 for the boys. For the girls, an impressive 7th place finish from freshman Ellie Buchanan, hitting the finish line at 21:20, was the biggest bright spot of the event in which they would finish last. Bella Alepa was the second finisher for Valley, at 24:09, and their top five was filled out by Hailey Jacobson, Ai Lin Doody, and Mia Puccio.

Volleyball at Northern Valley Old Tappan | Valley 1 – NVOT 2

– After winning the first set by 6 points, Valley fell apart, dropping the next two 25-14 and 25-13 to rival Old Tappan. This was their first loss in 5 matches, but they will try to return to their winning ways away at Demarest on Monday.

Boys Soccer vs Tenafly | Valley 4 – Tenafly 2

– The boys rebounded from Tuesday night’s tie with a dominant win over league rival Tenafly. Michael Caminneci responded to an early goal from Tenafly, pouncing on a bouncing ball in the box, to make it 1-1 within the first few minutes of the game. Another one from Caminneci, along with two goals from Shane Feder gave Valley a 4-1 leading heading into the second half, which they held onto for the critical win.

Girls Soccer at Tenafly | Valley 1 – Tenafly 0

– For the second time this week, the girls brought home a hard fought road win by only a one goal margin. In a game that certainly had its similarities with the game from Tuesday, Julia Conjour scored the lone goal of the game, pushing Valley over Tenafly for their 6th win in their last 8 games. 

Friday 10/15:

Football vs Northern Valley Demarest | Valley 37 – NVD 20

–  On senior night, PV thoroughly dismantled Demarest, beating them by 17 points in their final home game of the season. In front of a pinked out crowd, the team rebounded after giving up a long touchdown on the very first play from scrimmage with a Nick Messina TD and a safety from Steven Demboski to take a lead into the second quarter. PV would never let Demarest back into the game, scoring four more touchdowns, including a pick 6 from Nick Savariego, and moving to 5-2 on the season with 2 more games to play. 

Saturday 10/16:

Boys Soccer vs Indian Hills (Bergen Cup) | Valley 1 – Indian Hills 0

– In the Bergen Cup quarter finals, the boys found themselves in a rematch with Indian Hills, who they previously beat 4-2. This time, however, proved to be much tougher as the 0-0 tie lasted into the second half until a Michael Caminneci through ball found Preston So, who tucked it in, scoring the game’s only goal and moving Valley into the semifinals where they will face Ridgewood.