Boys Soccer

November 1, 2009

Blue Tide take HCT championship

Kevin Lourenco Harrison

Kevin Lourenco (6) is carried off the field by Mauricio Andre after Harrison's title win.

Click Here for more photos from Harrison at Kearny.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

KEARNY – During pre-game warm ups, Harrison’s Kevin Lourenco told his teammates he’d deliver on a free kick if given the opportunity against long-time rival Kearny.

Lourenco followed through on his promise when he scored in the 71st minute to give the No. 2 seed Blue Tide a 1-0 victory over the top-seeded Kardinals to win the Hudson County Tournament yesterday at Kearny Stadium.

“I had a feeling I’d make it,” Lourenco said. “Today we were taking shots in the morning before the game and I told them that if a free kick came in my spot, which was that exact spot, if it landed there I’d be taking it regardless.”

“Before the game he was like ‘dude I’m going to score on a free kick, it’s my birthday today,’” goalie Jose Fernandes said. “He showed us all and he scored.”

Lourenco said he was aiming for the lower left corner with of the net, but the shot from 20 yards out deflected off the Kardinals’ wall and redirected towards the right and over the shoulder of goalie Jimmy Doran for the goal.

The score helped ensure it’d be a memorable 16th birthday for Lourenco as he was carried off the field by his teammates after the game.

Teammate Bryan Aguilar, who was named Harrison’s MVP of the game, was initially scheduled to take the decisive kick after a Kearny (14-4-1) foul, but Lourenco exercised his option to take the kick instead.

“We discuss it well,” Lourenco said. “(Bryan will) even sometimes tell me ‘you take it,’ or I’ll tell him ‘no you take it.’ Whoever has the better chance at where the spot is, they’re the one that takes it.”

Harrison (18-2) still had a sweat out a long nine minutes as the Kardinals desperately tried to force overtime. The Blue Tide survived the flurry as a header from Kearny’s Almir Batista struck off the crossbar in the 77th minute.

Striking the iron became an all too familiar feeling for the Kardinals as they hit the crossbar or post on three separate occasions in the second half.

“You’re just hoping those go in or you get a good rebound from them (off the post),” Kearny coach Billy Galka said. “It didn’t happen today. Whenever you hit the post it’s a matter of an inch or two between staying out or going in.”

Kearny’s Eddie Silva was particularly victimized by the pipes, striking the post and crossbar on shots, mere inches away from breaking what was a scoreless tie.

The Blue Tide weren’t exempt from encounters with the post either as Aguilar and Lourenco struck iron earlier in the game.

Already one of the most tense soccer rivalries in the state, this year’s showdown between Harrison and Kearny was amped up to another level with a county championship up for grabs. The emotions and physical play nearly reached a boiling point for both sides as multiple yellow cards were issued in the second half.

“We just say that there’s a greater thing on the line,” Harrison coach Mike Rusek Jr. said. “If we wanted a bunch of tough guys, we wouldn’t have these kids on our soccer team. There’s a lot more tough guys in Harrison and Kearny. We want soccer players and that’s what we’re here to do. We did lose control a little bit, but for the most part we kept control out there.”

Fernandes made five saves in the victory for Harrison, including a diving save on a shot from Silva, Kearny’s MVP for the game, in the 28th minute. Fernandes also made a leaping save on Nuno Santos’ direct kick right before the end of the opening half.

Doran made seven saves of his own, including a jumping stop on an Eduardo Sanchez shot.

Eddie Silva Kearny

Jerry Enciso (left) tries to slow down Kearny's Eddie Silva.

 
1st
2nd
Total
Harrison (18-2)
0
1
1
Kearny (14-4-1)
0
0
0
 
H: Kevin Lourenco (unassisted) 71st minute
 

Goalies: H: Jose Fernandes (5 saves); K: Jimmy Doran (7 saves).