“It’s one of the greatest feelings ever,” said Espillat, promoted after playing JV last season. “When I saw the rebound roll to me, I was just like, I got to put this in.”

That finish was one of 10 games at the new charity event at Emerson High School, which raised more than $10,000 for cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The foundation was chosen by Wood-Ridge coach Joe Sartori, who completed his final chemotherapy treatment just a day earlier.

Conference bragging rights weren’t settled until the final whistle of the night. The NJIC rallied to beat the Big North, 5-4-1, winning the last three games of the day, capped by Harrison’s double-overtime win over Tenafly in the nightcap.

Overtime was good to Northern Highlands (3-1-1), which is turning the corner under new coach Ray Hasan. Hasan spent the previous seven years as the program’s JV coach before taking over the varsity job this season.

“A lot of positive activity, a lot of positive reinforcement,” Hasan said. “These boys enjoy coming to practice, they enjoy playing the games, they enjoy playing for each other. That’s probably the biggest thing.”

Northern Highlands has doubled its scoring average this season with seniors Will Raman and Luke Gurkovic helping matters against Leonia. The Highlanders flashed this kind of upside before this month, posting a 2-1 loss to No. 1 Ramapo and tying No. 4 Ridgewood. Now a team with seven senior starters is aiming for the program’s first winning season since 2021.

“This year, every single one of us wants to win, and I think that’s the biggest part,” Raman said. “Our intensity is much higher than it was in the previous years.”

Paramus senior scores a handful

At six-foot-two, with white tape wrapped around his wrist – “half of it’s for the drip, the other half is to keep my wrist safe,” – Eric Petrush has become impossible for Bergen County defenses to miss this fall.

Especially on Saturday.

The Paramus senior scored a career-high five goals in a shutout win over Wood-Ridge, pushing his season total to 14, tops in the Big North and nearly double what he managed in all of 2025. Paramus (5-3) has now won five of its last six.

At his current pace, Petrush has a real shot at the program’s single-season scoring record: 31 goals, set by Nick Sallemi in 2018.

Petrush points to a changed mentality as much as anything for the jump.

“I’m passing to the team more,” Petrush said. “The faster I pass it off, the faster I get it back.”

Soccer runs in the family. Petrush’s father grew up playing soccer and hockey before moving from the Soviet Union in 1991, and Eric is the middle of three brothers who’ve all played the world’s game. He started at three, and got serious at nine when he joined Cedar Stars Academy. He now holds offers to play in Spain, England and Germany.

Coach Steve Contreras said a shift in style has helped his game. With Paramus controlling more possession this season instead of counter-punching, Petrush has more room to use his instincts.

“His biggest strength is his anticipation,” Contreras said. “He knows a play is going to happen before it does and he knows the run to make before the ball even gets to the player that’s going to give him the ball.”

Hasbrouck Heights stays unbeaten

Gioser Torrealba wants to put Hasbrouck Heights back on the map. A month like this one is a good place to start.

No. 21 Hasbrouck Heights beat Fort Lee, 3-1, to stay unbeaten at 7-0, with five shutouts and a 22-2 goal differential built on a possession-based style under Torrealba.

“We want to keep the ball,” Torrealba said. “That is our goal in every game. We know our strength is our passing, and if we’re mature and we’re more patient with the ball, things will come our way.”

The season’s biggest addition has been junior midfielder Tomoya Suenaga, who moved over from MLS Next and scored a goal with an assist against Fort Lee. His older brother, Chihiro Suenaga, was a prolific scorer at Hasbrouck Heights before moving on to Rutgers-Newark.

“He definitely added more technicality on our team,” Torrealba said. “Adding one more who can shoot fast and score goals also opens up more targets for people to score, assist.”

Juniors Erdit Mani and Angelo Gianella scored the other two goals against Fort Lee, part of a balanced attack Torrealba said doesn’t rely on any one scorer.

What makes the run notable is how little experience is driving it. Only three seniors start for Hasbrouck Heights and two freshmen have cracked the main lineup, including freshman Matthew Martinez at centerback. Numbers are up with nearly 60 players program-wide.

“There’s no freshman, sophomore, junior,” Torrealba said. “We’re all soccer players, and everybody’s going to be held accountable no matter what.”

The NJIC’s other wins came from Glen Rock (6-0 over Fair Lawn), Wallington (3-1 over Old Tappan) and Rutherford (3-2 over sectional champ West Milford).

Pascack Valley weathers the storm

Pascack Valley knew it would be short-handed.

One player was out with a stomach bug and two arrived late due to ACTs.

But then the game got even harder for the Panthers.

Down a man for 67 minutes after a red card, Pascack Valley still found a way to a 2-2 tie with No. 7 Emerson on the road, with Lucas Mercado scoring both goals – including the equalizer with 3:14 left in regulation.

“The boys answered the call,” coach Luciano Cofrancesco said. “We were a man short and asked them to play a little bit harder, so yeah, in terms of the tie as a result, we’ll take it and move forward.”

The Panthers caught a break defensively when a field player used his hands to stop a goal, as goalie Dylan Melconian bailed them out on the ensuing penalty kick, diving to his right for the save with no rebound.

Mercado and Drew Ellner didn’t arrive until roughly 15 minutes into the first half because of ACTs, subbing in late in the opening frame. Once in, Mercado delivered, converting a penalty kick for one goal, then striking again late to force overtime. Cofrancesco has liked what he’s seen from Mercado this season.

“Very quick, fast,” Cofrancesco said. “He’s been doing a nice job of moving off the ball. We started the season slow, not scoring as many goals as we should have. A lot of these guys are stepping up into positions, and Mercado has been helping us.”

The result continues a turnaround for Pascack Valley (1-3-2), which was winless through its first four games before upsetting Old Tappan earlier in the week. Cofrancesco shook up his formation ahead of that game, and it’s carried over into back-to-back strong results.

Emerson (4-1-2) was missing senior midfielder Ryan Leone, who is expected to be out one to two weeks with knee inflammation. Leone, who had 17 goals a year ago and was on a similar pace before getting hurt on Sept. 16, watched from the sideline with a wrap on his right leg.