Governor Livingston Advances to Sectional Finals on Friday

(This article written by GL dad Jeff Bamundo)

If at the start of this season, anyone had told the Governor Livingston’s boys' varsity soccer team that they would be in the Sectional final come November, they would have surely met with as much skepticism as optimism.

But that’s exactly where they will be this Friday when they host Holmdel in a match-up of the #1 and #3 seeds in the Central Jersey Group 2 Finals to be played at GL's high school turf field at 2 p.m. thanks to a thrilling 2-1 victory over Rumson.

And consider the fact that GL is likely to move up from #17 in the Star-Ledger Top 20 of best teams in the state when the rankings are updated later this week, and you add another layer of improbability to this year’s accomplishments.

But back to the latest game to help them get to this lofty place and time.

A team that was used to facing deficits and made a habit of making comebacks has all of a sudden taken to going for it early and putting their opponents in the ‘chase’ position.

Such was the case again Tuesday, when Anthony Oliveira worked his way to the end line, eluded his defender and slipped a pass through the crease to a waiting Jeramey Robbins securing a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute.

The control of the ball and game continued for a while longer, with a series of half-chances and probing possession that kept Rumson on the back foot throughout the first twenty or so minutes.

But then came a pause in the pressure GL was exerting on their opponent.  In fact, it was with a reversal of fortune and a handball in the box that they gained a penalty kick, converted by leading scorer Ben Alderoty, to make it 1-1 just five minutes before the half.

Cue the second half kick-off and an almost immediate response when Oliveira and Robbins switched roles – with provider becoming scorer and scorer becoming provider.

Not two minutes in, Robbins looked for an outlet pass out to his right. He found Oliveira who beat his defender to the 18 and then used his left foot to beat the Rumson keeper, giving GL a 2-1 lead.

And then that pause again.

Can’t be sure if the Highlanders started thinking of protecting the lead or if they were catching their collective breath but, for a good part of the second half, Rumson was gaining territorial advantage and a slew of free kicks and corners that were very scary for the Highlander fans to sit through.

It was clear from the outset that Rumson enjoyed a physical advantage over their smaller and quicker opponents. So every time they lined up in and around the 18 or 6 yard mark, the crowd held its own collective breath, hoping that GK  Jon Robbins and his teammates could keep the tying goal out of the net.

What seemed like 15-20 headers by both teams, some being cleared out of the box, some being shot wide and off of the playing field, all resulted in GL keeping their lead right to the end.

And it was at the end that Rumson finally appeared to show the fatigue that was inevitable after all their ball chasing and free kick efforts.

As the final moments clicked off the clock, only James Lynch and Julian Light were allowed to go forward for a seemingly endless series of throw-ins as head coach Bruno Somma instructed his other nine field players to stay at or behind GL’s side of midfield.

So it will actually be two Top 20 teams playing for the Championship come Friday:  GL was at #17 and Holmdel at #18.  They will both be looking at lower numbers before they meet – and one is sure to be looking at an even lower number in the week after their match.

And more importantly, one of them will be looking at a place in the Final Four and semi-finals of the Group 2 playoffs in the state.