Entering Tuesday night’s match at home against the Bergenfield Bears the Tenafly Tigers (3-10-3) were mired in a 0-7-3 skid with their last victory coming against the Bears (2-13) on September 21st 3-1. The Tigers offense was also struggling managing only 4 goals during that stretch but in the 1st half the offense woke up in a big way scoring 2 goals in the span of 2:46 which was good enough to hold off a tenacious Bergenfield squad in the 2nd half.

“Bergenfield didn’t care if it was our senior night because it was a game for them and came out to play with full intensity” said Tenafly Tigers Head Coach Sean Kelly. “It was a good team win and everyone played very well” added Kelly “It was good to bring up out spirits toward the end of the season”

In the first half, the Tigers caught a break on a penalty kick as the referee awarded a 2nd attempt which leading scoring Laura Roland cashed in by burying a shot past Bears goalkeeper Jessica Ng at the 18 minute mark. Not even 3 minutes later Jordan Mayo broke into the box and slid a shot past Ng making it 2-0.

“We had an awesome opportunity on the penalty kick plus a great run in from Jordan on her goal” said Sean Kelly. “We played with high intensity, fast-paced and kept the ball moving which created a lot of opportunities” “I will be eager to see how many shots on goal we had in this game” added Kelly.

Tenafly came out in the 2nd half with more pressure as Mayo led the charge with several scoring chances. In the 33rd minute, she broke in and cranked a shot that Ng stopped point blank as Mayo tumbled over Ng in the box. Two minutes later Mayo rifled a left-handed shot that was turned aside by Ng.

“The mix between Jackie Brocco and Jordan our two forwards upfront who have insane speed which is helpful” said Kelly “We got the ball to our midfielders who had a coupled of opportunities” added Kelly “Katz Maia made some fantastic saves and I have not seen her jump higher than she did tonight”

Bergenfield managed to break through with less than 12 minutes remaining in the 2nd half on a free kick attempt from about 20 yards out as Karen Ramirez lifted a high arching shot that carried over the head of Maia into the net. Ramirez almost tied the game up at the 6 minute mark curling a shot from 30 yards out with plenty of spin on it forcing Maia into making a difficult save.

“We made it real interesting at the end by getting one and pressing at the end” said Bergenfield Bears Head Coach Chad Williams. “We struggled getting more shots on goal but made the adjustments at halftime” added Williams. “Our goalie did a great job of keeping us in the game” “it’s a learning experience for everyone because we are young” “With five freshman that play consistently it’s good for them to get in games like that and get experience in close games” “We can continue to learn from that and build on how to win and finish when we need to”