September 30, 2010
Kards win in rematch
Merceds Lois (left) and Katie O'Neill celebrate after a Kearny goal in the second half.
Click Here for more photos from Bayonne at Kearny.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
KEARNY – Bayonne may have closed the gap in the battle for county supremacy since they last faced Kearny 11 months ago. But in a span of less than 10 minutes, the Kardinals sent a reminder that they are still No. 1 in Hudson County.
After a tightly-contested opening half, Kearny broke through in the second half with three goals in a seven-minute stretch to defeat the Bees 4-2 yesterday at Harvey Field.
“We didn’t match their intensity in the first half,” Kardinals coach Vincent Almeida said. “In the second half, we matched their intensity and it made a big difference.”
After a series of near-misses and shots turned away by the Bees’ Meghan O’Donnell, Kearny (7-1) broke through in a big way early in the second half. Janitza Aquino, who had been stopped by O’Donnell earlier in the half, broke the 1-all tie with a well-placed blast from 15 yards out in the 50th minute.
Just three minutes later, StefanieGomes connected for her second goal of the game, this time with a 25-yard shot placed just inside the right post.
“You can’t put your head down early in the game or you’re not going to win,” Gomes said. “It happened, we put our heads down (after a few of those misses), but we picked them right back up and won as a team.”
Kaitlyn Lima capped off the surge in the 56th minute with a high shot from 45 yards out which arced over O’Donnell’s head and into the net.
“We knew in the first half we didn’t play so well,” Gomes said. “So we came out as a team in the second half and that’s what we always do.”
The game-changing rally by Kearny might not have started with Aquino’s goal, but by a tie-breaking goal which wouldn’t count.
Bayonne (5-1-1), had appeared to have taken a 2-1 lead in the 46th minute on a goal by Lisa Rovatsos after a collision in front of the net with Kearny keeper Fernanda Lois and a defender. The Bees’ excitement was short lived as the refs waived the goal off, saying Rovatsos interfered with Lois on the play.
“That totally changed the dynamics of the game, said Bayonne coach Kellie Kopacz, who believed it was the defender who made contact with Lois. “I know that’s sports, it’s going to happen, but that’s what changed everything.”
Up until that point, the Bees stood toe-to-toe with the defending county champs. They had fallen behind 1-0, but rebounded just five minutes later when freshman Kaitlyn Pallitto tied it with her goal in the 25th minute.
The performance was a stark contrast from the previous meeting between these two teams as Kearny posted a convincing 6-0 victory in the title game of last year’s Hudson County Tournament.
“That’s what we’ve been training for,” Kopacz said. “We wanted to be competitive with them.
“I’m just so proud of every single girl, they played their hearts out and they showed that they could hold their own against them. That’s what I’m proud of, especially being 1-1 at halftime.”
Pallitto added her second goal of the game in the 59th minute to cut the deficit at two. Rovatsos assisted on both scores. O’Donnell, a sophomore, made 14 saves in a performance that Kopacz said was by far her best of the season.
Lois made four saves for the Kardinals in the victory.
Freshman Kaitlyn Pallitto scored both goals for Bayonne.
1st |
2nd
|
Total |
|
| Bayonne Bees (5-1-1) | 1 |
1
|
2 |
| Kearny Kardinals (7-1) | 1 |
3 |
4 |
| K: Stefanie Gomes (unassisted) 20th minute | |||
| B: Kaitlyn Pallitto (Lisa Rovatsos) 25th minute | |||
| K: Janitza Aquino (Mercedes Lois) 50th minute | |||
| K: Gomes (Aqunio) 53rd minute | |||
| K: Kaitlyn Lima (unassisted) 56th minute | |||
| B: Pallitto (Rovatsos) 59th minute | |||
Goalies: B: Meghan O'Donnell (14 saves); K: Fernanda Lois (4 saves). |
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