WALDWICK — Kyle Carroll gathered his Waldwick teammates together and brought them over to the sideline to salute their opponents following Tuesday’s NJSIAA Group 1 boys soccer semifinal.
Carroll, a defender and team captain, led the Warriors to their fourth consecutive playoff shutout, 3-0 over Cedar Grove.
He and his senior classmates knew all too well the sting of losing at this stage in the tournament, having been part of the Waldwick team that got knocked out of the 2019 state semis.
So, while jubilant fans flooded the field to celebrate the Warriors’ first state-final berth in 10 years, players made sure to applaud the efforts of Cedar Grove, which had reached the semifinals for the first time.
Waldwick coach Jon Noschese then made sure to laud Carroll’s efforts.
“He puts this whole defense together,” Noschese said. “We’ve pitched some big shutouts against some good teams here, and it all starts back with him. … We shut down a good team and a good player. No. 7 [Dillon Ferber] is a really good player.”
“Communication is key,” Carroll said of containing Ferber, a 30-goal scorer. “Flooding him at all times, whenever he touched the ball, we always had two or three guys around him. Hats off to him, he gave us some huge problems, but we got it done in the end.
What it means
Waldwick (21-2-1) will face Haddon Township in Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. Group 1 final at Kean University in Union. The Camden County school defeated the Warriors in the 2011 state-championship game, 3-1.
Noschese admitted it was somewhat “fitting” for him, but for the players, “they don’t know anything about it. It’s high school sports, they don’t worry about that.”
Cedar Grove finished 19-5-1 and can recall 2021 as the season it captured the first sectional title in school history. The Panthers toppled defending North 2, Group 1 champ Glen Ridge last Thursday.
“This was a pretty cool experience to be here,” Cedar Grove coach Michael Moussab said, we were just hoping it would’ve ended differently.”
Key plays
Danny Perdomo got Waldwick on the board in the 21st minute, netting a goal for the second straight game. The Warriors had the better of play in the first half, and although Ferber and the Panthers generated some chances early in the second, the home team kept up the pressure.
“I felt like we could’ve put a couple more in the back of the net,” Perdomo said, “and in the end, we wound up getting two more.”
Greg Tartaglia is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app. Email: tartaglia@northjersey.com Twitter: @njtags13
