Julian Ruehlemann

Sport: Soccer

School: Waldwick

Class: Senior. Age: 17

Accomplishment: Ruehlemann scored both goals in Waldwick’s 2-1 win over Haddon Township in the Group 1 boys soccer final on Nov. 24.

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The video has been pulled up time and time again on JJ Ruehlemann’s phone.

The one where the Waldwick senior lives out a childhood dream in the final and most important match of his high school soccer career. The clip starts with a long ball into the box and ends with Ruehlemann corralling it between two defenders and chipping a shot over the opposing goalie.

Then he runs over to his sideline, shrugs to a few nearby cameras and scans the crowd.

Of all the highlights in a legendary career, none can top what transpired on his game-winner with less than two minutes to go in the Group 1 final.

“I would be lying if I said I’ve seen it less than 10 or 20 times,” Ruehlemann said.

If his deadpan reaction made it seem like Ruehlemann has been there before, it is not entirely wrong. No one in the state scored more goals this year than Ruehlemann, who broke a single-season school record with 40 on his last shot in blue and white.

Plus by now, the Williams College commit has a full bingo card of experiences as a two-time captain, three-time starter and four-year varsity player. The Warriors won a state title back in 2021, although his vantage point was a little different in that final as a freshman stapled to the bench.

This time, Ruehlemann never came off the field until the job was finished in a 2-1 win over Haddon Township.

“I have him as a student and he’s top five in the class,” coach Jon Noschese said. “He’s very cerebral and intelligent. You could talk the most trash to him and say whatever and it bounces off him. I mean it. When it comes to pressure, he sees the world differently, in a good way.”

What made the state championship a little extra special was sharing it with his older brother, Lucas, a senior forward at Wesleyan who made the trip down from Connecticut to watch Waldwick for the first time this season. Separated by two hours, the Ruehlemann brothers have kept tabs on each other throughout the season by livestreaming games.

For JJ, seeing his older sibling’s success impacted two major decisions back in middle school. The first was to drop basketball around sixth grade to focus his attention on soccer. The second was to play year-round for the same club team, World Class FC, when other options were available.

“I considered switching clubs to an MLS Next, where high school [soccer] wouldn’t be an option,” Ruehlemann said. “But then I reconsidered and I said I really want to represent my high school. I’m glad I did.”

His Waldwick teammates are just as glad. Ruehlemann led Bergen County in goals in back-to-back years and became the first to hit 40 in one year since Wallington’s Nick Zielonka in 2019.

The challenge for the Warriors’ forward was that the more he cracked the box score, the more attention he received from opponents. A 5-4 start this season provided another mental hurdle for Ruehlemann and everyone around him.

“I think it came down to us being more friends off the field,” said Ruehlemann, whose team lost once thereafter. “Going to each other’s houses after games. Having pasta parties. Being connected. We hit that little bump in the road and decided it’s time to go. We grouped together and figured it out. I think our game after that was Wallington. And in that game, it was like, all right guys this is do-or-die.”

As for his college decision, Ruehlemann picked up a couple of Division I offers, but turned them down because of the coaches, campus and high academics at D-III Williams, which accepts between seven and 10 percent of applicants.

Long after he graduates from the Massachusetts school, he’ll still have the memory of scoring twice in the second half in his final game at Waldwick. Not to mention, the video to prove it.

“I think the entire season we’ve been down in games and come back,” Ruehlemann said. “At halftime, we knew exactly that. We knew that we were controlling the tempo and we can get those chances. We just need to put it in the back of the net.”