Rams Soccer Pick Up Two Bigs Wins Against Cranford and New Providence in Preparation for State Tournament

George Fagan, Staff Writer

In preparation for the upcoming state tournament, the Rams would battle on the pitch in low scoring games in a fight for a higher seed in the state tournament. The first game against New Providence was a game the Rams would be looking for revenge. In this game, the Rams would battle it out, playing high quality defense, while Kal Mitchell was impressive in goal keeping a clean sheet. Pat Feit would not only be the only Ram to score, but would also be the only goal of the Rams a 1-0 victory. A few days later, the team would face a familiar face – playing Cranford who was moved up to the highest division in the UCC conference just this year. In the first half the Rams would yet again play strong defense, and come close to a few goals before the first 40 minutes ended. However, Cranford would have the first laugh with a goal to give them the advantage at the 20 minute mark until Henry Griffiths would score an equalizer with his ninth goal of the season. As the Rowdies started to get loud, Kal Mitchell made five beautiful saves to keep it a tie game. The defense would continue to prevail against the Cranford offense, and it remained a tie game with five minutes remaining on the clock. As time was winding down, Nico Stauffer would have a chance to take a corner, which he would end up dropping a dart that led to a Max Cook header for the lead with just four minutes and change remaining. The Rams would hold on for a 2-1 win, and would leave Cavelero Field with the fifth seed for the State Tournament for a rematch with Paramus Catholic.