EMERSON – Gianna Mancino had her hands full almost the entire second half and made every play.
The sophomore goalie made a majority of her 10 saves after intermission to help Emerson hold on for a 1-0 victory over division rival Midland Park in Thursday’s North 1, Group 1 girls’ soccer quarterfinal.
“This was definitely one that really meant a lot,” said Mancino, in her first year as the starter, “and it was definitely really busy back there.”
Emerson took a 1-0 lead into intermission after Katelin Quinones scored from 10 yards on a breakaway late in the first half, with the assist going to fellow sophomore Courtney Callagy.
“That’s a huge goal for Kate, a huge goal,” Emerson coach Matt Lachman said. “She had a lot of chances, and I told her, ‘Just keep working, working, working and get the reward,’ and she got the reward.”
Fourth-seeded Emerson (17-5) and No. 5 Midland Park (15-6) split a pair of regular season battles in the NJIC Patriot Division. Lachman was so concerned by the Panthers’ attack that he shifted senior and 30-goal scorer Taylor Porcello to defense in the second half. Still, the shots kept coming, but Mancino caught them all.
“Gianna has improved an incredible, incredible amount from the beginning of the year,” Lachman said. “She works extremely hard, she didn’t drop one ball today – she played tremendous. She’s a hard-working kid and she deserves that.”
Elsewhere in North 1, Group 1:
(1) WALDWICK 3, KINNELON 1 (at Waldwick): Sophomore Bianca DiPasquale and seniors Sydney Meller and Paige Wonsowicz scored in the second half to help the Warriors (17-4) pull away to a 3-0 lead. DiPasquale also had an assist. Lainey Lewis scored for Kinnelon.
(3) PARK RIDGE 5, (6) POMPTON LAKES 1 (at Park Ridge): Sophomore Dana DiBella and senior Megan Gasnick scored two goals apiece for the defending champion Owls (16-5). Senior Claire Perez added three assists. Freshman Christina Miller scored for Pompton Lakes (12-9-1).
North 2, Group 2
(1) LYNDHURST 2, (9) CALDWELL 1 (at Lyndhurst): Freshman Deirdre Kearns and junior Giulia Pezzolla scored in the second half to help the Golden Bears (16-2-2) erase a 1-0 halftime deficit. Freshman Maggie Fodera added an assist.
