Pascack Valley Suffers First Loss at the Hands of Northern Highlands

Kyle Stackpole

PV Sports Beat

Of all the lacrosse games on the Saturday slate, one stood out among the rest.

This was the exciting showdown between Northern Highlands and Pascack Valley, both ranked in the top 10 in Bergen County.

Pascack Valley is ranked 8^th in the county and had started the season by winning their first 4 games. With that being said, they knew Northern Highlands would be their toughest test yet.

On the other hand, despite their 1-3 record coming in, Northern Highlands is ranked 6^th in the county. Their mediocre record is soley caused by their tough schedule early in the season.

The game was poised to be a close one throughout and failed to disappoint.

In the end however, Northern Higlands was too much for the Indians, winning 10-7 and handing Valley their first loss of the season.

The game was close at half time, with Highlands holding a 4-1 lead. However, the third period was one the Indians would like to forget as they were outscored 5-3. Because of this, they faced a 9-4 defecit going into the fourth.

Pascack Valley never gave up as they continued to scratch and claw their way back into the game. With 3 minutes left in the fourth period, they were only down 9-7, giving them a fighting chance. Those hopes were dashed when a Highlands defender knifed his way through the defense and rifiled one past Switzer, giving the Highlanders a 10-7 lead with under 2 minutes to play.

Altough a loss is never a good thing, there were some positives the Indians could take out of this game.

The first was that Junior Michael Buldo-Liccardi overcame his scoring woes by leading the team with 3 goals. After struggling to find the back of the net the last two games, Buldo seems to have gotten his swagger back. Look for him to be a big part of Valley’s success in the future.

Coming into the game, some (not me of course) believed that Pascack Valley couldn’t compete with a powerhouse like Northern Highlands. They proved doubters wrong by giving them all they could handle until the final whistle.

Junior midfielder Nick Soravilla said after the game, “This effort showed that we can compete with some of the best teams in the county.”

The Indians will have to continue to compete because if they want to be the best, they’ll have to beat the best.