GLEN RIDGE, NJ – For the second straight season and the fourth time in five seasons, the Glen Ridge High School girls’ varsity soccer team will face Shore Regional in the state Group 1 championship game.
Senior back Galen Lew scored two goals and junior forward Lindsey Jaiyesimi had the other goal to lead the Lady Ridgers to a 3-1 win over Park Ridge in the state Group 1 semifinals on Tuesday night, Nov. 15, at Indian Hills High School in Oakland, located in Bergen County.
The Ridgers, who improved to a 16-6-1 record under 16th-year head coach Oscar Viteri, will face Haddon Heights in the state Group 1 championship game on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m. at Kean University in Union.
Senior midfielder Colleen Grady, senior forward Leslie Jaiyesimi, and senior back Katie Liu each had one assist and junior goalie Victoria Woznick made three saves for the Ridgers, who had won their fifth straight North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 tournament title in their previous game with a 3-0 win over Belvidere on Nov. 11. Park Ridge was the Section 1, Group 1 champion.
Shore, the Central Jersey champion, defeated Haddon Heights, the South Jersey champion, by a score of 3-1 in the other Group 1 semifinal on Nov. 15. Shore is 19-4.
The Ridgers and Shore Regional have met in the state Group 1 finals in 2012, 2013, and last season. GRHS beat Shore, 2-0, in 2012. The teams played to a 1-1 tie in 2013 to become co-champions. Shore defeated GRHS, 2-1, in double overtime last season. The 2012 and 2013 finals were played at The College of New Jersey, while last season’s final was played at Kean.