Haddon Heights falls to Cliffside Park in Group 2 boys' soccer championship

EWING, N.J. - Haddon Heights ended its boys' soccer season in defeat in the same way the Garnets had accomplished so many wins: by testing their opponent to the limit.

This time the opponent had slightly more talent and one more goal. A Cliffside Park team that played picturesque possession soccer used a first-half goal from Exau Paz and defeated Haddon Heights, 1-0, in Sunday's state Group 2 championship at the College of New Jersey.

The Garnets, ranked fifth in South Jersey by The Inquirer, finished their season 19-3-2. The victors finished with a 24-1 record.

At first, Haddon Heights seemed taken aback by the impeccable ball control of the Red Raiders, but the Garnets slowly adapted.

"I thought it was a great game," Haddon Heights coach Jeff Eppright said. "We were cautious at the beginning, but we certainly had our opportunities."

One of the best chances came in the 11th minute when leading scorer George Gans shot just wide from a left angle inside the box. Moments later, he sent a cross to the right post that the Garnets just missed running down.

"I thought, either time, we could have scored," Gans said.

Cliffside Park applied plenty of its own pressure, but Heights goalie Jon Weaver was aggressive coming off his line, thwarting many potential chances.

In the 30th minute, Cliffside Park finally got on the board when Santiago Pazmino sent a cross to the far post and Paz headed in a bouncing ball that Weaver had no chance at saving.

Still, Heights kept attacking.

In the 32d minute, Heights stopper Austin McCleery forced Cliffside Park keeper Pedro Sanchez to make an outstanding diving save to his right on a free kick from 22 yards out.

"I thought it was going in," McCleery said. "I sent it to the upper left, and all of a sudden he got a hand on it."

In the 64th minute, Cliffside Park missed on a great scoring chance when Michael Lopez hit the right post on an absolute rocket.

With just 2 minutes, 18 seconds remaining, a potentially ugly scene was averted when order was restored quickly.

Lopez lay on the ground after Gans fouled him. Suddenly, Sanchez charged from his goal toward Gans and had to be restrained. Sanchez was assessed a red card, forcing the Red Raiders to play a man down.

"He gave an elbow to my teammate, and I wanted to ask him what happened," Sanchez said.

Gans said he had just been going for the ball on a routine play.

But there was nothing routine about the way Heights accredited itself.

"I'm really proud of these guys," Eppright said. "We had a great run."

Cliffside Park 1 0 - 1

Haddon Heights 0 0 - 0

Goal: C-Exau Pax. Saves: H-Jon Weaver 6, C-Pedro Sanchez 6.