By, Jake Karp

The Blue Tide keeps on cruising, sending Harrison to play for their first State Championship since 2014. 

Neither squad could gain an advantage, as both defenses heavily limited shot attempts throughout the game, despite Harrison dominating possession for most of the match. 

Junior (M,F) Christian Carranza opened up the scoring with an unassisted bullet to the back of the net after weaving through several defenders untouched, notching his 8th goal of the season for Harrison.

As the first half was winding down with just two minutes remaining, Glen Rock capitalized on a whistle and scored the equalizer by senior Alex Kim, who netted his 23rd and final career goal.

The overtime period featured much of the same defensive battle plus a shot by Harrison’s Pedro Barreto Reis that found the back of the net but was waived off because it was illegally kicked away from Glen Rock Goaltender Andrew Eisenberg.

In penalties, both offenses were electrifying with no saves made through the first three frames. However, a diving save by Harrison Goaltender Francisco Apolo set up a game-winning penalty kick by Senior Yusufu Jaite (F,M), sending the Blue Tide crowd into a frenzy.

“We knew we had our chances, we just kept working hard,” Senior Nick Vergaray (B/M) said reflecting on the win.

This win is especially sweet for Harrison, as their 2022 season also came down to a penalty shootout, but they came up short that time, getting knocked out by Ramsey. Tonight they flipped the script.

Led by head coach Matt Beverin, Glen Rock has wrapped up their best season since 2018 with a 16-3-2 record, 2nd in the NJIC. 

Harrison, who is 18-5-2, 5th in the NJIC will host 13-5-5 Sterling on Sunday with all of their focus on bringing home their 26th State Championship and 7th under legendary head coach, Michael Rusek, who was inducted into the NJ State Coaches Association Hall of Fame this month.