Pouring rain can’t stop Hopewell
HOPEWELL TWP. » Neither an upset minded Nutley side or miserable weather conditions could stop the Hopewell Valley High School boys soccer team from reaching its third straight sectional final on Tuesday night.
Getting the better of the play by working its passing combinations to better effect as the game went along, Hopewell Valley defeated Nutley, 2-1, in the North Jersey 2 Group III semifinals.
With the victory, Hopewell advanced to play for the sectional championship on Friday at Mendham (17-3), which advanced earlier in the day with a 5-2 victory over Summit.
“When it’s rainy and slick like that it makes it difficult, but I thought once we got our footing we played well,” said Hopewell coach Ed Gola.
Hopewell struck first at the 21:26 mark of the first half when Owen Burnett scored off a scramble following a corner kick. The Bulldog lead held until there was 14:08 remaining in the first half when a bit of a defensive breakdown allowed Nutley center forward Garrett Groeling to tie the game at 1-all.
The fact Groeling was not able to score again was a big key to Hopewell’s victory. The rangy Groeling is tall and a real target-type of striker, but Hopewell was able to limit him to a couple of long-range shots after the restart.
“We’re pretty strong at center back so we didn’t do anything special to mark him,” said Gola. “It was more like a team effort.”
Much of the second half found Hopewell on the attack and it could easily have won by a larger margin than it did. No matter as a totally unmarked Max Wills was able to score the winning goal by scoring from close in by redirecting a perfect cross along the turf from Ryan Pfau halfway through the second half.
Friday’s game will be a challenge, but it’s been impressive the way Hopewell has rebounded from a disappointing loss in the semifinals of the Mercer County Tournament and appears to be peaking at just the right time.
“I think it was a good learning experience,” said Gola of the MCT loss to West Windsor South. “Our seniors have now made it to the sectional finals three straight times and they know every game could be their last game.
“They really are determined to keep it going.”