PARK RIDGE – Waldwick’s tenacity and resiliency showed through in a big way.
Clawing back from a one-goal deficit in the final five minutes, Waldwick rallied for a golden goal in overtime to overtake Park Ridge, 3-2, in an NJIC Patriot Division boys soccer game Monday.
Junior Michael Conyngham scored off an assist from senior Steve Contreras with 4:31 left in the first of two scheduled 10-minute sudden-death overtimes to get the Warriors (4-1) a come-from-behind victory.
Griffin Price found the back of the net off a setup pass from Riley Toolen with 3:58 left in regulation to give Waldwick its chance to go to the extra period tied at 2.
“I’m happy with the way we were able to pull this one out. It hopefully gives a good indication of the kind of team we are, one that will play its hardest right up to the final whistle,” Conyngham said.
“No one was getting down on themselves after we fell behind. Instead, it just got us more pumped to make a strong comeback.”
The teams battled through a scoreless first half with goalkeepers Erik Neugebauer of Waldwick (six saves) and Dan Confreda of Park Ridge (nine saves) each coming up with big stops. Marwan Zoweil had a good chance inside the box for Waldwick, but was denied on an acrobatic Confreda block 12 minutes into the game. The Owls’ Alex Avalos and Jim Pigot were turned away by Neugebauer’s quick reactions in the 10th and 28th minutes, respectively.
Waldwick, the No. 25 team in The Record Top 25, took a 1-0 lead with 19:40 left in the second half on an unassisted goal by senior forward James Noyes.
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/boys-soccer/waldwick-rises-up-1.1415228
