Backup goalie Alyssa Crean seals crown for Mahwah by Sean Farrell of The Record
MAHWAH — The goalkeeper who didn’t expect to play lifted the trophy her team wasn’t supposed to win.
It’s the story Alyssa Crean wouldn’t have believed two weeks ago. The one she still can’t wrap her head around.
The Mahwah junior, who didn’t play a single minute in the regular season, earned a shutout win in a state sectional championship game.
She made 13 saves while filling in for the team’s injured starter, and the fourth-seeded Thunderbirds won the North 1, Group 2 championship with a 2-0 victory over sixth-seeded Ramsey on Friday.
“This has been a crazy experience,” Crean said. “I’m just amazed and extremely happy for how we played and the fact that we got this far. And that we won.”
Sarah Jordan and Erin Jaffe each scored a goal, and the Hayley Baer-led Thunderbirds defense gave Crean enough help to keep the clean sheet intact.
“Every time we hit a bump in the road, we seem to come together and be that much bigger and better the next day,” Mahwah coach Courtney Carrelha said. “That to me is unbelievable and shows the strength and character of the team.”
Crean said she only made her varsity debut in the first round when junior starter Michele Silva fractured her skull against Pascack Hills.
But the change in net didn’t change the Thunderbirds’ defensive success.
They knocked off the defending Group 2 champs in Ramapo. They upset top-seeded High Point. And they allowed a total of one goal in four tournament wins.
“I knew we could do it,” said Jordan, on winning her first sectional title. “But it’s so crazy that it’s actually reality.”
Jordan, a senior midfielder, once again demonstrated that she’s one of most gifted players in Bergen County. She scored her 29th goal of the season late in the first half, and played well alongside Hannah Busch and Erin Jaffe to control possession.
“[Jordan] has a great vision of the field,” Baer said. “She always knows where to place the ball and where to go with it. And she knows how to score.”
The Thunderbirds added the insurance goal with about three minutes before intermission when Jaffe kicked in a rebound from Jordan.
“[This is] No. 1,” said Jordan, when asked to rank the win. “Hands down. I woke up this morning so nervous. I thought that this is the most important day of my whole life. I’ve never played in a game this big.”
Crean, meanwhile, put the nerves behind her after making a save on a cross in the fourth minute.
She wasn’t tested much early on, but kept busy during the second half with the heavy wind at Ramsey’s back. And Baer provided her steady support at sweeper, where she moved to around the start of the state tournament.
The resilient Thunderbirds overcame the injuries and the elements, using new players and new lineups.
Along the way, they found a championship-winning mix.
“It’s an unbelievable story,” Carrelha said. “I might not have believed it, but I believe in my girls. I believe that anything that comes their way, they can achieve. I’m so excited that they learned the lesson to work hard because it will pay off in the end.”