Ramapo Girls Soccer: Group III State Champions
The Ramapo Girls Soccer Team celebrating their state championship victory.
December 22, 2022
The Ramapo Girls Soccer Team ended its season with an impressive win. On November 13th, the team took home the trophy as Group III State Champions, making it Ramapo’s 14th state title in history. Starting off the state tournament strong, the girls defeated their rivals, Northern Highlands in a 3-1 match. Advancing on to the next round, they defeated Sparta 6-0 and became the NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectional champions. This decisive victory was a turning point for the Raiders, as they realized that with their team’s comradery and skill, a state championship title was feasible. Finally, before entering the finals, the team faced one last battle, beating Chatham in a close 1-0 match. Earlier on in the season during the semi-finals of the county tournament, the Raiders faced a setback when they lost 2-1 to the Immaculate Heart Academy, as the opponents scored the winning goal within the last two minutes of the game. However, after overcoming this adversity, the team was able to turn their heads around and focus on an even greater goal: being state champions.
The state final took place at Kean University, where the Raiders faced Cherry Hill West. The Raiders knew the game would be close; however, they never would have thought that it would pan out the way that it did. According to NJ.com, they were down 2-0 at the 49th-minute mark, but the mentality of the game shifted when junior, Kate Langfelder, scored an impressive goal off of a cross from the wing. With 23 minutes remaining, Langfelder took matters into her hands and rocketed a shot to tie up the game. With this magnificent comeback, anything seemed possible for the Raiders. Taking the ball to the net on a breakaway, junior, Cassie Tafuri Delvecchio, placed the ball in the goal, putting Ramapo in the lead. A sigh of relief swept across the fan section; however, the game took a turn when the opposing team scored to tie up the game 3-3 within the last minute of the game. Ramapo goalie, Maddie Kellog, came out for a slide tackle to protect the goal; however, the referees called this a foul in the box, giving the other team a penalty kick.
Kellogg says, “Obviously the refs make the call, but I didn’t think I was in the box. I would have used my hands then.”
Unfortunately, Cherry Hill West scored on the penalty kick, tying up the game and forcing it to go into overtime. After no score during the double 10-minute overtime, the game went into dreaded, penalty kicks. The Raiders had practiced penalty kicks often, so they were well prepared for anything to come; however, the fear factor was inevitable. Fans and players anxiously watched as the shootout began. Kellog, with the final save, carried the team to victory, with the final score of the shootouts being 6-5. Not only has she earned MVP of the game, but she has also been named athlete of the week. Congratulations Maddie!
(northjersey.com)
Coach Maddie Gibbs praises the team for their hard work by stating, “We definitely knew what we were going to do, who was going out there. They were ready. I think to be confident in that situation, you need to feel prepared.”
The girls had a remarkable season, ending it with an impressive record of 19 wins and 3 losses. The team is currently ranked as #7 in NJ. NJ.com states, “The latest state title run puts the Raiders only one back of 15-time champion Morris Catholic for the most all-time.”
Congratulations to Girls Soccer Team for achieving these successes. All of your hard work has paid off!
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