Ridgewood 4, Proviso West 2
THE SKINNY The Ridgewood boys soccer team began Wednesday night’s game in Hillside slowly, struggling to adjust to Proviso West’s slow playing surface and to match the energy it played with Monday when it won the Metro Suburban title against Fenton. However, Ridgewood beat the Panthers 4-2. TURNING POINT The Rebels took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but Proviso West sophomore Miguel Ocampo equalized with 35:46 remaining in the second half. That goal seemed to send a jolt of energy through Ridgewood, which scored just 2:04 after that. The go-ahead goal was scored by junior outside midfielder Piotr Witek, and Ridgewood went on to build a 4-1 lead. THE STARS The Rebels had four different players — senior Adam Yaghmour, Witek, junior Matt Strojek and senior Alex Sobieraj — score goals on Wednesday. Proviso West goalkeeper Matthew Cabrales kept the Panthers in the match. The senior made 21 saves, including two penalty kicks. BY THE NUMBERS The Rebels (12-1-3) were caught offside 11 times. QUOTABLE Winning a conference title “was physically exhausting. It was mentally exhausting. I think these guys came out today and played sloppy. You saw it. It was not our fundamental type of game. We got the victory, but it wasn’t as pretty as we would have liked.” — Ridgewood coach Rob St. John
