RAMSEY — Asking Ben Zakowski which of his three goals in the state sectional finals was his favorite was akin to asking opera legend Luciano Pavarotti which of his three solos was best.
On Thursday, Glen Rock’s senior striker brought down the house with a trio of show-stoppers as his team beat Ramsey, 4-1, to take the NJSIAA North 1, Group 2 crown.
“Probably … hmmm … let me see,” said Zakowski, when asked to choose. “Maybe the first one because it gave us the momentum.”
Tough choice, indeed.
On his first goal, Zakowski ran onto a through pass down the middle from classmate and sidekick Nick Rogers. Zakowski one-touched it and then chipped it over the goalie and into the net, giving his side a 1-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, Zakowski doubled the Panthers’ lead, taking Rogers’ cross from the right corner and volleying it in with his left foot at the far corner. With the Panthers leading 3-1 in the final minutes, Zakowski made it a hat trick with a 25-yard, left-footed volley that curled around a defender and into the net.
Another time, Zakowski took on two defenders, made a series of incredible moves to free himself and fired a shot that was barely deflected wide.
“Ben has always been like that … getting around players super easy,” Rogers said. “Nothing he does surprises me anymore.”
What it means
With Zakowski in the spotlight and Rogers (1 goal, 3 assists) having a big game of his own, Glen Rock completed the trifecta, having previously won the NJIC-Colonial, as well as its first Bergen County Tournament title.
The Panthers will face North 2, Group 2 champion Hackettstown on Tuesday.
“We’ve got 27 great players on the team and we’re lucky to have a couple guys (in Zakowski and Rogers) who can take over a game this big,” Glen Rock coach Casey Schick said.
Schick, who played for the Panthers before graduating in 2005, is in his third season as the head coach and ninth with the program. He was an assistant on Glen Rock’s last state championship team in 2010.
“To come back to my hometown and take a ride with these guys … it’s just awesome,” Schick said.
Game balls
Zakowski and Rogers aside, Glen Rock got a dominating performance from its defense, which didn’t allow a quality scoring chance until Ramsey’s Kyle Smilon broke up the shutout with 15:35 left in the game.
Glen Rock goalie Noah Beverin makes this save in the second half.
Glen Rock goalie Noah Beverin makes this save in the second half. (Photo: Chris Pedota, Chris Pedota/NorthJersey.com)
Glen Rock’s defense did its best imitation of the town’s namesake boulder, forming an impenetrable wall and rejecting all forays into its end. Earning at least a piece of a game ball in this regard were Panther defenders Oscar Horwitz, Nick Zakowski, Mark Buckel, Owen Corry and Josh Kim.
“We communicate well and move different guys back and forth,” Corry said. “A lot of our guys can play different positions and we have two stoppers that are interchangeable. We keep things tight on defense and move it up the field.”
They said it
Since this is the first Glen Rock team to win league, county and state championships, it’s fair to say this is Glen Rock’s greatest team ever. But Schick wasn’t going there.
“That’s not for me to say,” Schick said. “We’ve had a lot of great teams here and the history of Glen Rock soccer is rich. We’re one of the better teams. But just being put in that category is a huge accomplishment.”
