Elmwood Park’s seniors carry Tigers past Ridgewood, into sectional final

NORRIDGE — Only four seniors play for Elmwood Park’s boys soccer team.

But all four played big roles in the team’s 2-1 win over Ridgewood in the Class 2A Ridgewood Sectional semifinal on Tuesday.

Olutomiwa Akinrotima and Matthew Ziuzia teamed up for the game’s first goal, while Aleksander Grabowski and goalkeeper Mario Muhaj protected the lead in the back. Muhaj’s save in the final three minutes kept the Tigers ahead.

Thanks to their seniors, the top-seeded Tigers (12-7) will play in the program’s first sectional final Friday. They face Foreman at 6 p.m. at Ridgewood.

“They aren’t rah, rah kids, but they all lead by example,” said Elmwood Park coach Martin Blake, who guided the team to its first regional title last week. “They go get the job done. Some people are just leaders.”

Late in the first half, Akinrotima sent a long pass down the field for Ziuzia, who beat Ridgewood goalkeeper Wojtek Gasiencia for a 1-0 lead with 15 minutes, 41 seconds to play before intermission.

“You can’t teach that,” Akinrotima said of the inherent connection with Ziuzia. “That’s something that has to come naturally.”

The two have played together in the program since they were freshmen, and Ziuzia said he trusts Akinrotima to put the ball in the best place for him. The two nearly hooked up for another goal in the second half, but Ziuzia couldn’t corral Akinrotima’s cross in the penalty box.

“We just seem to know what each other is thinking,” Ziuzia said. “We know something good will occur from a run like that.”

Neither Akinrotima nor Ziuzia said they believed the Tigers could make it this far after enduring three losing seasons their first three years of high school. But both said the team is playing its best soccer of the season.

“All those years of struggling has paid off,” Ziuzia said. “It was hard to keep our heads up. To do this in our last year feels amazing.”

Ridgewood

• The fifth-seeded Rebels (10-11-1) tied the match at 1-all on Edi Antal’s goal with 58.3 seconds remaining in the first half. They had a good look at the goal in the game’s final three minutes, but Muhaj turned them away.