Hopatcong's Boys Soccer Team Slams Lenape Valley in Overtime

A great soccer rivalry such as the one between Lenape Valley and Hopatcong deserves fantastic games like this.

Ryan Sheridan sent a header into the Patriots' net in the waning moments of overtime to seal a 2-1 victory for the Chiefs on Monday afternoon.

Lenape Valley scored to tie the game, 1-1, with about ten minutes to play in regulation. The score held through the final whistle. During the extra time, Hopatcong was given a free kick, which found its way to Sheridan's head, and eventually to the back of the net. Sheridan gave a lot of credit to the setup of the goal, which handed Hopatcong the victory.

"[Nick] Chasty doesn't usually do the free kicks," Sheridan said.  'He does those great in practice, though. It was perfectly set up by him."

"It felt good to win. They're our rivals so it was good."

Hopatcong head coach Brian Carr agreed that the win felt great, especially over a noted rival such as the Lenape Valley.

"Absolutely," Carr said. "The game was a bit sloppy, but it was a good win nonetheless."

The game got off to a roaring start for the Chiefs, as Dylan See scored about three minutes in to give the Chiefs a 1-0 advantage.  Sheridan also had a part in the goal, as he was credited with the primary assist.

Play was back-and-forth from that point until the first half was over.  Neither team had a consistent string of scoring chances, and many of the scoring chances that either team did have wound up with shots being blocked or sent wide of the net.

During the second half, Lenape Valley slowly began to build momentum, all the way to their tying goal.

Once the game was tied, play was pretty even again until overtime, just minutes before Sheridan's golden goal. The ball was in the offensive end for Hopatcong for a majority of the overtime period, which made it seem inevitable that the Chiefs would finally connect for the game-winner

And they did.

Besides the goal given up late in regulation, the Chiefs' defense completely shut down the Patriots' offense.  Shots rarely made it through to goaltender Dan Marino, who was hardly tested during the game.

"That's been a goal of ours all year," Carr said of his team's defense.  "Not just shot prevention, but quality shot prevention."

The victory gives Hopatcong a 2-1-1 record on the season. Its next game is Wednesday at home against Newton at 4 p.m.