Highlanders lose in sectional semifinal

The West Milford High School boys soccer team had its most successful season come to a close with a 4-0 loss to top-seeded and 14th-ranked Ramsey in the semifinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament there Tuesday, Nov. 12.

The loss snapped the Highlanders’ seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) and was just the second defeat in the team’s final 21 games; it went 16-2-3 in that span.

West Milford (17-3-3), under the guidance of head coach Ray Ferriola, went 6-1-3 in winning the Independence Division championship of the Big North Conference.

This was the first season since 2016 that the Highlanders had a winning record, and the 17 wins is the most in program history.

“To be honest, I think we exceeded expectations,” said Ferriola, who just completed his 11th season at the helm. “Our junior class really stepped up for us. We won nine one-goal games, and the two games we lost before our final game were winnable games.”

The Highlanders reached the semifinal round of the Passaic County Tournament, where they bowed to DePaul, 3-2, in double overtime after holding a 2-1 lead at the half.

The only other loss this season was a 1-0 setback to Fair Lawn on Sept. 9.

The Highlanders were led offensively by Nick Bognar (one goal, 24 assists), Noah Christian (eight goals, six assists), Danny Bauer (nine goals, two assists), Julian Pierre (six goals, three assists), MacKenzie Landon (six goals, two assists), Cole Stillman (six goals, one assist), Jaxon Neibig (five goals, one assist), Aramis Nieshalla (four goals, three assists), Will Dent (three goals, four assists), Lorenzo Andrade (two goals, two assists), Nick Barbella (two assists), Kevin Docwra (one goal), Kyle Gloria (one assist), Szymon Krempaski (four goals, two assists), Tyler Liguori (one goal), AJ Lockwood (one assist), Chris Orsino (three goals), Iron Pinedo (one assist), Brayden Primavera (one goal, one assist), Diego Sanchez (one assist) and Will Weiss (one assist).

The defense posted seven shutouts and surrendered just 26 goals, with goalies Donovan Ford and Dominic Lenoir splitting time in net.

“Losses are never good, but we played in six elimination games this season between the county and state games and won four of them,” said Ferriola.

“The players coming back next year gained valuable experience in playing important games this late in the season, and they need to have that moving forward.”