The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • S9

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2010 THE RECORD S-9 North Jersey Sports For live in-game updates as well as scores and highlights log on to: northjersey.comhssports GIRLS LACROSSE: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS Semifinal: Ridgewood 19, Oak Knoll Final: At Rutgers, Saturday, 1 p.m. Ridgewood vs. West Morris Mendham Ridgewood is rolling State TofC spared NJSIAA cuts steroid testing Tarleton, Sippel lead Maroons to TOC final through the defense and found Paige Pearson for the goal. "It was hot and we were all tired," senior Abbey Van Home said. "And I think she showed what we all needed to do.

I told her after that, 'You just changed the game right It was sick." Tarleton, one of the team's younger players, seemed to know exactly what was at stake. "I felt like we were sleeping from the long bus ride," Tarleton said. "So I just got it and went. We didn't need to wait for anyone else we needed to get going." The move sparked the Maroons' offense, but some tough calls allowed Oak Knoll to continue threatening just before halftime. Then, another Ridgewood hero emerged.

With about 40 seconds left in the half, junior goaltender Isabel Sippel made three straight saves on free positions to preserve Ridgewood's 8-5 lead. "I just really wanted to step up for my team," Sippel said. "We needed to hold that lead." Her teammates rewarded her by going the length of the field to score 18 seconds before halftime. "That was the most clutch part of the whole game," senior Samantha Cerma-ck said. "Having Sippel step up like that, it makes us all want to play better." Kelci Smesko and Cermack each had four goals, and Sally Jentis had another impressive performance with three goals.

But it was the clutch play by Sippel and Tarleton that sparked 12 unan- By ANDY VASQUEZ STAFF WRITER MENDHAM It's hard to figure out what's more impressive: the history the Ridgewood girls lacrosse team is making or the way the Maroons are doing it with seemingly everyone doing their part. In another overwhelming performance, Ridgewood advanced to its first Tournament of Champions final with a 19-8 dismantling of Oak Knoll on Wednesday. "This is extremely special," Ridgewood coach Karla Mixon said. "These girls have been working toward this for a long time. They are leaving a legacy, they're making history and it's exciting." Ridgewood's work isn't done yet; the top-seeded Maroons play West Morris Mendham for the title at 1 p.m.

Saturday at Rutgers. But with the way this team is playing devoted to making the right plays, and devoted to winning for each other it's as if the Maroons already have a few fingers around their first TOC title. Ridgewood just needs to keep playing like it did against Oak Knoll. After taking an early lead, Ridgewood surrendered three consecutive goals as Oak Knoll pulled within 6-5 about four minutes before halftime. Ridgewood was on its heels.

But after a timeout, sophomore Courtney Tarleton forced a turnover. Then, she ran the entire length of the field, CHRIS PEDOT ASTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ridgewood's Samantha Giordano, left, and Paige Pearson celebrate Pearson's first-half goal against Oak Knoll on Wednesday. every team always says lets make it to the State championship, but this is real life," Tarleton said. "I just want to win for the seniors. I look up to them so much." E-mail: vasquezanorthjersey.com Spartans' drive ends Paramus runs out of gas in State semis SOFTBALL: GROUP 3 NUTLEY 6 By JEFF ROBERTS STAFF WRITER ROBBINSVILLE The basketball tournament of champions has been spared.

The track and field meet of champions will run another day. And Atlantic City again will host the individual wrestling championships. The question facing New Jersey high school athletes is for how long. Steroid testing was one of the cuts the NJSIAA made Wednesday when it passed its $5,295 million 2010-11 budget. The NJSIAA found money for at least one more year for marquee events that had been threatened, such as its postseason tournaments, despite cutting 9.11 percent of its budget from 2009-10.

But the cuts did not solve the association's budget crisis, which began in late January when legislation limiting ticket prices for postseason events went into effect. "Do understand that the problem does not go away," said Steve Timko, the NJSIAA executive director, at the executive committee's monthly meeting. "With the current restrictions that we have with ticket prices, it still will create an issue of what happens down the road. "Two-thirds of your population is getting in for nothing. And that's quite frankly something that you wonder how long you can go with that type of projection." The state's interpretation of the legislation that the NJSIAA cannot charge more for a playoff or championship event held at a public school than member schools charge for regular-season games in that sport led the executive committee to pass a resolution requesting all conferences to "implement modest increases in ticket prices to sustain the existing services provided by the NJSIAA." Just last month, the state Commissioner of Education informed the association that it can charge $5 for adults for spring postseason events and must admit students, children and senior citizens for free.

The budget cuts did not stem the war of words between the executive committee and the sponsor of the legislation, Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Pauls-boro). The executive committee handed out a press release during the meeting, stating the NJSIAA "cannot assure the continuation of postseason tournaments beyond" next year without "relief from the interpretation of the State legislation." Burzichelli wasted no time in responding, releasing a statement of his own just after the meeting concluded. "This is finally a step in the right direction, but I remain unconvinced that the NJSIAA has done enough to cut its salaries and benefits and move away from relying on increased ticket prices for their revenue," the release stated. "The children and teenagers should never have been used as pawns in whatever game the NJSIAA decided to play, so while I welcome the move to preserve the championships, I remain very disturbed that cutting them was even considered in the first place." Timko fired back at Burzichelli when asked about comments the assemblyman previously had made. "I think it's unfortunate because I don't think he understands how this organization runs," the executive director said.

"I think you have a better sense for what's going on here from a day-to-day operations standpoint." Despite cutting its landmark steroid testing program, Timko said the association will have to dip into its dwindling surplus account to balance next year's budget, using $638,755. Additional cuts include a salary freeze for NJSIAA employees and the reduction of one assistant director position by attrition, which will remain unfilled after Bob Baly leaves. He announced that he will retire Dec. 31. The association will reduce the salary of the associate director position, held by the retiring Carol Parsons, when it fills it.

Steroid testing was eliminated because the state did not appropriate its half of the cost $50,000 in next year's budget, Timko said. Hydration testing for wrestlers will continue, but will be paid by member schools. game. The Spartans, who scored 12 runs against Old Tappan in the sectional semifinal and 11 against Pascack Valley in the final, man aged just four hits through six innings and didn't have a baserun ner reach second until Jenni Zymet singled and stole second with one out in the sixth. "The panic-button wasn't pushed in the first inning, down 3-0," Hay said.

"You have to make the most of your opportunity when you get it and we didn't." Nutley pitcher Kayla Huegel wasn't overpowering, but the right-hander kept Paramus' potent lineup off balance. Huegel scattered seven hits, three of which came in the seventh inning. She had four strikeouts and walked one. Paramus had its moments. The Spartans loaded the bases with three singles in the seventh, but Huegel got Alexis Yumul on a groundout to end the game.

E-mail: leonardnorthjersey.com By TIM LEONARD STAFF WRITER EDISON -Small ball left Paramus feeling pretty small on Wednesday. Nutley executed its game plan to perfection, applying relentless pressure on Paramus and using the squeeze bunt for two runs in a 6-0 victory in the State Group 3 semifinal. It was the first time Para mus (23-6) has been shut out all season and represented a stunning departure from the North 1, Group 3 tourney in which the Spartans scored 32 runs in four wins. "We got a dose of our own medicine. They came out and took it to us right off the bat," Paramus coach Brian Hay said.

"They were probably a step ahead of us." Nutley was three runs ahead before Paramus came to bat. The Raiders executed three bunts, with three hitters reaching base, leaving a clearly unnerved Paramus defense wondering what was going on. After a leadoff single by Kristen Mattia, Lauren Iradi's bunt past the mound on the third-base side to put runners on first and second. Eileen Purcell laid down a sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error allowed a run to score. A squeeze bunt by cleanup hitter Victoria Malanga brought in another run.

Malanga scored on a two-out single by Tara Petrucelli. "Routine plays just didn't get made. I wasn't on in the first inning. I tried to pick myself up, but it didn't happen," Paramus junior right-hander Tori Feorenzo said. The Spartans knew of Nutley's propensity for small ball, but the execution was so good that Paramus could do nothing to stop it.

It didn't help that Paramus couldn't hit its way back into the swered goals by Ridgewood on the way to this historic victory. And with everyone on the team playing for a common cause, Ridgewood hopes more history is on the way. "At the beginning of the season for a 6-2, 6-4 win at first singles. That left Max Sacks at second singles and Francis Loh and Eric Rosengart at first doubles in the battle. And for a time they both seemed up to it.

Sacks, who had dropped the first set in a tiebreaker, battled back from a 5-3 deficit to take the second in a tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Loh and Rosengart had battled back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set, after taking the first against Graeme Stahl and Alan Chu, to tie the score, 5-5. But Stahl and Chu, who lost to Loh and Rosengart in three sets in April, rallied back to take the second set, 7-5, and held off the Bulldogs, 6-4, in the third to clinch the match and make a third set at second singles unnecessary. "The match played out exactly the way we thought it would," said Westfield Paramus junior Tori State Group if TYSON TRISHSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Feorenzo delivering during Wednesday's 3 semifinal loss to Nutley. D-E's journey comes up a little short By GREGORY SCHUTTA STAFF WRITER WEST WINDSOR It's a long drive from Mercer County Park to Dwight-En-glewood.

But for the Bulldog tennis team Wednesday, the ride was probably not long enough. For the second time in three years, the Bulldogs came within a hair of reaching the State Tournament of Champions tennis final only to see their hopes dashed at the last moment by Westfield, 3V2-1 lk, in the semifinal. "It hurts so much because we came so close," Bulldog coach Joe Iwanski said. "Maybe if we had been zipped, 5-0, it wouldn't hurt so much. But when you lose like this, the healing process is going to take a while." coach George Kapner, whose team will face top-seeded Chatham in today's final.

"Our strength has always been our depth." And in the end, that's what sank the Bulldogs. "It was a hell of a dogfight," Iwanski said. "You watch Max fight back to split sets, and those two teams at first doubles might be the two best doubles teams in the state. It's tough." The season is not over for all the Bulldogs. Shutov and Sacks will compete in the State singles tournament beginning Saturday.

Shutov is the third seed. "But it's not the same," Iwanski said. "The team aspect of the game is so important, especially to those guys." E-mail: schuttanorthjersey.com TENNIS: STATE OF WESTFIELD 312 The third-seeded Bulldogs had their sights set on second-seeded Westfield since their thrilling victory over Newark Academy in the North Non-Public sectional final. It was Westfield that knocked them out of the tournament in 2008 and it was Westfield that handed them their first loss of the season this year, 3-2. Westfield got two quick points as expected with straight set victories at third singles and second doubles while Dwight's Dan Shutov pounded West-field's Scott Bernstein with a strong serve.