Glen Rock Rolls in Rutherford

With nearly everyone back, including the entire defense, from last year's team that reached the North 1, Group 2 state sectional final and allowed just 10 goals the entire season, Glen Rock's girls soccer team has established itself as a side that knows how to pick apart its opponents. The Panthers have been so dominant inside their league that they rarely have to worry about being tested and this year has been no different with two convincing victories to start the season. But when the Panthers fell into their first lull of the young season on Wednesday afternoon, it took just one ring of the post for them to snap out of their mini-funk and kick their possession game into high gear. Once they got going again, there was little Rutherford could do to slow them down.

Glen Rock scored three goals in a nine-minute span late in the first half, including freshman Caroline Taylor's first-ever varsity goal, as the Panthers cruised to a 6-0 triumph at Tryon Field in Rutherford.

"I think we had a little rough patch in the first half today, but we got through it and got back to playing our game," said Glen Rock's Grace Taylor. "Once we started winning 50/50 balls again, we got back into a good rhythm. With our defense and the chemistry we have, we're confident that we can play with anyone."

The Panthers overwhelmed both Pascack Hills and Garfield in the first halves of their first two games, but Rutherford provided a stiffer test early on. That did not stop GR from quickly grabbing the lead. Off a corner from Hannah Petrone and the subsequent scramble in front, Grace Taylor was able to toe-poke a shot past Rutherford goaltender Leah Miceli for a 1-0 lead just 7:42 into the game. For the next 15 minutes though, the Lady Bulldogs leveled the playing field by simply hustling to loose balls and nearly shifting the momentum of the game. A deflected cross from Rutherford's Kendall Vazac landed in open space in the box with a streaking Gina Viggiano running onto it. Her well-struck ball rocketed off the corner where the crossbar and the right post meet before being cleared away.

"We started pushing forward a bit and if that ball goes in, our kids probably would have played the rest of the game with a lot more confidence," said Rutherford head coach Marissa Yoda, who does not have a single senior on her roster. "If we score that goal and we're either tied or down a goal at the half, who knows. But Glen Rock stayed composed an just kept attacking us until we made a few mistakes. We had trouble clearing the ball out of our own end. When you do that against a team like Glen Rock, they make you pay for it."

Kendall Daly tracked down a long ball to keep it in bounds and got it to cutting playmaker Sophie Lederer. The junior took two dribbles, then bent a shot over the outstretched hands of Miceli and into the upper right-hand corner for a 2-0 lead with exactly 12 minutes to go. Then, off of a corner kick, a loose ball popped in front of Caroline Taylor and she pounced on it by ripping a shot through traffic and in for a three-goal lead. Petrone capped the outburst with the play of the day, dribbling through four defenders and blasting home a sliding shot to give Glen Rock a commanding 4-0 halftime lead.

"We really play well together and it's been easy for me to fit even though I'm a freshman," said Glen Rock's Caroline Taylor, the younger sister of Grace. "It's such a close team that they made it easy for me to just play without any pressure."

Led by Jackie Westbrock, Sarah Fiorino, and Daly, the Glen Rock (3-0) defense was outstanding all game long as Viggiano s shot that hit the post turned out to be one of only two Rutherford shots in the entire game. Starting Glen Rock goaltender Margi Rivara did not have to make a save and backup Sarah Gross made one. Colleen DeMaio and Rachel Gross each scored late in the second half to close out the scoring.

Despite giving six goals, Rutherford (1-2) got a solid performance from Miceli. The junior finished with 12 saves, eight of which came on diving saves or shots from point-blank range.

While the win was a convincing one on all fronts for the Panthers, head coach Tracy Trobiano continued to think about the 12-minute stretch in the first half where her team was outworked. If this talented, senior-laden squad wants to finish the season with chances for section, county, and state titles, she knows her players have to raise their games even another notch.

"When we're on we are a really strong team, we just have to get down stringing a full 80 minutes together," said Trobiano. "It's all a mental game and you have to make every possession, every minute count because it all adds up in the end. I was happy with a lot of things we did today, but there were some little things we still need to improve on as well. Getting a win is always nice, but you have to learn something from it too if you want to move forward as a team. We want to have a championship season, so we'll take something from this game and try to build on that for our next game."

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