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Sports

Lax Boys Crowned County Champs After Disposing of Bosco

Maroons use big second half to take home the county title

The players counted down the final seconds in unison while the large crowd of Ridgewood supporters roared behind them. "THREE…TWO…ONE!"

The team rushed onto the field and dog-piled on in celebration as it became official – Ridgewood is the 2011 Bergen County Champion, defeating Don Bosco 9-6. 

The road to the title wasn’t easy. Despite beating Don Bosco 9-3 last week, the Maroons knew that with the trophy on the line, the Ironmen would come out with a vengeance.

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For a team that struggled last season, one of its stated goals was to bring home the county title. With the win it was Ridgewood’s second title and first since 2008.

"This is huge, this was our first goal to win a Bergen County Championship and we knew they’d be gunning for us, its hard to beat anyone twice,” said senior midfielder Kyle Gibson. “We believe we have the mental toughness and the players to win any kind of tough game that comes our way.”

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The Maroon players found themselves down 3-2 at the half, as Don Bosco came out and was the more aggressive team, winning ground balls and controlling the time of possession.

Ridgewood needed to come out firing in the third quarter and it did just that as Vann Jorgensen and Andrew Toner both scored to help the #1 seeded Maroons regain the lead at 4-3. But it was short lived.

Anthony DiSanzo tied the game up at 4-4 when he ripped home a shot, and that goal snapped Ridgewood into gear.

Connor O’Shea would put one in the back of the net with time dwindling in the third quarter, giving the Maroons the momentum.

The result was two quick goals in the fourth quarter, one by Garcia Logan and the other by O’Shea that looked to put Ridgewood firmly in control.

Though it looked as if the game was firmly in the hands of the Maroons, two quick Don Bosco goals cut the lead to 7-6 and made for a precarious finish.

When coach Mike Pounds called a timeout with 4:04 remaining, Ridgewood knew that if it could put one more goal home that it would likely be the difference, but a turnover could be costly.

With 2:28 to go, Peter Reuter scored the big one as he shot it past Don Bosco goalie Dan Whittam to put the Maroons up by two.

Ridgewood would add another insurance goal late as Tripp Telesco, who had a tremendous game, took it end to end on a turnover and put it in the net to seal it. 

Senior Vann Jorgensen finished with three goals on the day, including the first of the game for Ridgewood, which resulted in Jorgensen taking a huge hit to the head as he finished the shot.

Five other players scored goals on the day and goalie Noah Pounds finished with 11 saves.

“It’s a team game and everyone just stepped up,” said Jorgensen. “It’s just amazing.

Despite the big win, Coach Pounds was quick to point out that there is more work to be done.

“We come back Tuesday and it’s for the division which is something we haven’t done in a while,” said coach Mike Pounds. “If we win that one we win the division and that’s something we haven’t done in a long time and that’s another one of our goals.   

With the kind of collective team effort it took to win on Sunday, if the Maroons can repeat some of that in the state tournament, then it'll be a tough out all the way through.

The team is back in action against Northern Highlands on Tuesday and with a win, it secures the Gibbs Division title. 

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