November 7, 2010

Union City celebrates after posting a shocking 1-0 victory over Kearny in the HCT semifinals. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Kearny vs Union City Boys Soccer Photo Gallery

HARRISON – Surrounded by three state-ranked teams, few, if any people gave Union City much of a chance in yesterday's Hudson County semifinals. The Soaring Eagles might not have the record or reputation of those other teams, but it didn't stop them from crashing this party.

Fifth-seeded Union City (10-1) delivered the tournament's biggest upset, with a stunning 1-0 victory over top-seeded Kearny (15-5) yesterday at Harrison High School.

"That's just the thing about soccer. I think the old adage is 'I'd rather be lucky than good.' I think if we played them 100 times, they'd probably beat us 99 times," head coach Bill Shapiro said. "Kearny's a very good club. Once we got knocked out of the state tournament we really circled this because this was all we had left to play for. Today, we just had it."

To knock off the powerful Kardinals squad which had won the two regular season matchups by a combined score of 4-0, the Soaring Eagles need a phenomenal effort from goalie Josue Rosas. The senior keeper did just that, making eight saves in the victory.

Rosas, a first-year goalie, looked like a seasoned veteran as he faced a seemingly endless barrage of Kearny shots in the second half.  He made a leaping stop on Andres Pestanez in the 60th minute. Rosas followed it up with a diving save to his left to rob Renato Vigo in the 75th minute of play.

"He's come so far from a kid in July who was a defender and had never played goalie until now where he'll be the starting goal keeper in the county final game," Shapiro said. "That's such a huge jump and to beat Kearny, a top 20 team in the state, it's just a reflection on him and the whole team."

Union City jumped off to an early 1-0 lead in the eighth minute when Elvis Romero received a pass from Mateo Restrepo and scored from just outside the six for the game's lone goal.

Tyler Anderson made three saves in net for Kearny, ranked No. 17 in the state. The Kardinals will have to bounce back quickly as it hosts West Orange in the NJSIAA North 1, Group IV semifinals on Tuesday.

With the win, the Soaring Eagles will face St. Peter's Prep for the Hudson County championship at a date to be determined. Union City's state tournament run may be over after a loss last week to Clifton, but it is certainly making the most of its final chance with the county tournament.

"All week since we lost to Clifton, we knew we had to beat Kearny to stay alive. We knew if we lost that was it we were done," Shapiro said of his squad with 17 seniors on it. "This was all we had left to play for."

Senior captain Ryan Wilson and the Kardinals will look to bounce against West Orange. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Kearny vs Union City Boys Soccer Photo Gallery