De La Rosa’s OT Goal Gives Midd. North 1-0 Soccer Win Over South

1028

By Jim Hintelmann
MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP – Middletown North junior midfielder Elliot De La Rosa has scored just three goals this season, but two of them were important since they came against rival Middletown South.
His third goal, however, proved to be the highlight of his three-year varsity career since it was the game winner in a 1-0 overtime thriller over the Eagles Monday night. The win completed a two game sweep over the Eagles with North winning the first meeting, 3-0.
“I heard my mom calling me from the sidelines when the ball was rolling out of bounds to keep playing,” said De La Rosa, “but I got the ball back and was able to kick it over the goalie’s head. It was a great thrill to score it against South.”
“Middletown South played a great game,” said North coach Fred Napoli. “Fortunately, we were able to put some pressure on them and finally scored. This is our second win in a row and we are playing a little better. We have three senior starters with the rest being sophomores and juniors.”

Ryan Binn (9) of Middletown North slips past Nick Mihoulides (6) of Middletown South. Photo: Sean Simmons
Ryan Binn (9) of Middletown North slips past Nick Mihoulides (6) of Middletown South. Photo: Sean Simmons

North (6-6) had totally dominated the first half with a 15-4 shot advantage, but South goalie Luis Moure was outstanding in the net making a number of diving stops to keep the game scoreless.
“Luis really kept us in the game in the first half,” said South coachPat Petretta. “Unfortunately we were never able to finish off the shots. We’ve been having a hard time finding the back of the net this season.”
South played better in the second half and controlled the ball for the first nine minutes. It came close to scoring when Blake
Finlayson hit a liner from 20 yards away that North goalie Scott Weigel made a leaping grab.

Ryan Binn (9) of Middletown North slips past Nick Mihoulides (6) of Middletown South. Photo: Sean Simmons
Ryan Binn (9) of Middletown North slips past Nick Mihoulides (6) of Middletown South. Photo: Sean Simmons

South has been struggling this year with a 1-9-2 record, but Petretta has seen improvement the past few games despite the record.
“We’ve been playing well defensively and the kids are working hard,” he said. “We have a lot of talent in our sophomore class. You never feel good losing a game like this, but the kids have shown a lot of character and I’m proud of them.”