Hopewell drops sectional final to West Morris

MENDHAM » Of all the things high school teams can simulate to prepare for games these days, wind gusts are not on that list.

Throw in the suddenly freezing temperatures that graced the East Coast Friday after a rather warm fall, and the Hopewell Valley boys soccer team’s quest to win consecutive NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group III titles became all the more difficult at Mendham High’s hillside home.

Winds that gusted between 30-40 miles per hour were the biggest factor with which to contend besides the top-seeded Minutemen themselves.

The second-seeded Bulldogs did their best to keep the game even, but the second goal by Mendham senior Hans Gallagher with 6:28 left in the game proved to be their undoing.

Well, that and the wind as the Minutemen claimed their second sectional crown in three years by defeating Hopewell Valley, 2-1.

The loss ends Hopewell’s season after a 19-5-1 campaign. It was the third straight trip to the sectional final for coach Ed Gola’s seniors, who won 54 games over the last three years.

“After we graduated 17 seniors from last season’s team, this group did a good job getting back to this point,” Gola said.

As strong as the Bulldogs were, dealing with the speed of the Minutemen when using the wind to their advantage became a very tough task.

“For half the game, we didn’t know what we had to do when the wind was against us. Every time we kicked the ball, it seemed to go out,” Hopewell Valley senior forward Jared Burnett said. “Meanwhile, just about every state game they played here had a 20-plus-mile-per-hour wind. They knew what to do.”

Hopewell did its best to adjust, yet found itself back-pedalling from the start.

Gallagher crashed the far post when his classmate Stephen Ryan won a ball in the center of the box and shot it off the hands of Bulldogs goalkeeper Domenic Zangrilli. Gallagher knocked in the deflection to put the home team up 9:03 into the contest.

The visitors adjusted, then made things quite interesting when Jared Burnett received a pass from classmate Ryan Pfau 30 yards away from Mendham’s net. Burnett blasted an untouchable shot into the upper-90 that tied the score with 4:41 left in the first half.

The score stayed tied when the teams switched sides until the Minutemen pounced on another momentary lapse by the Bulldogs’ defense as it tried to deal with the wind and the on-rush.

This time, junior Calvin Ryan won a ball from a pair of defenders and centered a pass with the wind behind him. Gallagher was marked on the play, but slid to get a foot on the ball and knock it off his defender’s foot into the net for the deciding goal.

The wind may have kept Gallagher from completing a hat trick when another shot with 10 seconds left clanked off the crossbar.

That tricky gust, however, was not enough to keep Hopewell Valley alive in the state tournament.

Hopewell Val. (19-5-1) Mendham (18-3) Goals — Assists — Shots — Saves —

0 (M). JBurnett (HV), Gallagher 2 (M). Pfau (HV), SRyan, CRyan (M). 8 (HV), 10 (M).

1 0 — 1 1— 1 2

DZangrilli 7 (HV), Carkhuff 7, Journeycake

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP IV WASHINGTON TWP. 2, RANCOCAS VALLEY 0 SEWELL » For the second time in as many weeks, the Minutemen shut down the Red Devils.

After doing so (by the same score) in the South Jersey Coaches Tournament, second-seeded Washington Township used goals from Mike Funaro and Ed Rainey to turn away fourthseeded Rancocas Valley in the SJ IV title game.

In doing so, head coach Shane Snyder’s 21-2-1 squad earned a state semifinal meeting with CJ IV champ Princeton (16-5-1) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rowan University.

Rancocas Val. (14-7-3) 0 0 — WashingtonTwp.(21-2-1)1 1 — Goals — Assist — Shots — Saves —

(WT). Funaro, Rainey (WT). Zemlak (WT).

1 (RV), 6 (WT). Mulkay 4 (RV), Pagano 1

0 2