Valley Punishes River Dell, Earns First Home Win

Kyle Stackpole

PV Sports Beat

The first home game is always an exciting one and the Indians made the most of theirs with a 14-4 thrashing of River Dell Tuesday afternoon at Pascack Valley High school.

The game was never in doubt, as Valley had goals from Nick Sunseri and Nick Soravilla in the opening minutes. By the time the first quarter ended, the Indians had secured a comfortable 5-0 cushion.

Instead of taking their foot off the gas pedal and playing passive, Pascack Valley continued to push the tempo, scoring 2 more goals in the second to go up 7-1 at intermission.

During the first couple of minutes of the second half, the Indians put the game out of reach. After goals from Kevin Illian and Joey Farenilli, the game was all but over.

With all the scoring that went on, one player stood out among the rest. Junior attack man Kevin Illian scored six goals and dished out a handful of assists. His solid play throughout propelled Valley to a 3-0 start.

On the other side of the ball, many of the Indian defenders were left standing around during the game. Senior standout goalie Kevin Switzer allowed only four goals on just a handful of shots, mostly because River Dell was barely on the attack. Time of possession and precision passing left the defense with little to do.

When asked about how they were able to stifle River Dell’s explosive offense, junior defenseman Ryan Foley replied, “We were able to stop their fast breaks and in turn, eliminate any easy scoring opportunities.”

Coming into this game, the Hawks had scored 6 goals on the year, with 5 of them coming in transition. The Indians made sure everyone was back on defense, limiting the number of transition opportunities and therefore, limiting what they are able to accomplish on the offensive end.

The win today improves Pascack Valley’s record to 3-0, but in the eyes of the Indians, they haven’t accomplished anything yet.

“This was going to be a grueling week for us and it sure helps to get off to a nice start,” Foley added, “but the season has just started and there are plenty of challenges yet to come.”