Roundup: The Week in Sports and a Look Ahead

Football

The Bridgemen improved to 2-5 on the season Friday night, when they defeated Englewood during their last home game of the season. Fort Lee picked up the 19-0 win during the seniors’ last game at home. Frankie Goris had 12 carries and two touchdowns for the Bridgemen. Quarterback Mario Jacovino scored an 8-yard touchdown, Tyler Sanders had 13 tackles and Justin Parra chipped in with 6 tackles and 3 sacks.

Head coach Bill Straub was very happy for his seniors on such a special night.

“It was a great team win, and I am so happy for the seniors to get the win they deserve on senior night,” Straube said.

The team returns to the field on Friday, when the Bridgemen travel to Dumont High School for 7 p.m. game.

Boys Soccer

Fort Lee improved to 9-3-1 Monday after defeating Dumont High School 2-0. Nikola Gogic and Alessio Guacci each scored for the Bridgemen. Cody Elkechen and Kosuke Nishinaga provided the assists. Fort Lee goalkeeper Matt Hernandez had eight saves on the day. The Bridgemen return to action on Tuesday, when they visit Cliffside Park at 4:15 p.m.

Girls Soccer

The Lady Bridgemen fell at home to Dumont High School 3-0 Tuesday night. Dumont’s defense was overpowering as Fort Lee had trouble getting on the board. The team tied Bloomfield 1-1 in double overtime on Thursday, getting their overall record to 4-9-1. Natalie Mateus scored for Fort Lee on a penalty kick, while goalkeeper Lauren Ritche had four saves for the Lady Bridgemen. Senior defender Jenny Valdeon put her body on the line all game and made some great defensive plays.

Head coach Phillip Zappel was happy with what he saw.

“The girls should be commended for their determination after coming back from a one-goal deficit,” he said.

The girls will look to earn their fifth victory of the season on Monday, when they visit Tenafly at 4:15 p.m.

 Girls Volleyball

Fort Lee defeated Emerson High School on Monday afternoon 2-0. The set scores were 25-21 and 25-16. Nicolette Pappas contributed with eight assists, Nicole Farber recorded seven digs, Megan Gimson had four aces and Stephanie Nihamin contributed 11 kills. The Lady Bridgemen continued the success on Tuesday by improving to 14-5 after a 2-1 win against a tough Dumont team. The set scores were 20-25, 25-14 and 25-23. Stephanie Nihamin and Anthe Nikolaidid each recorded 11 kills, Nicole Farber had seven digs, Defne Guvenc pitched in with four aces and Nicolette Pappas recorded 13 assists.

Assistant coach Kelly Horton knows how important this game was for the team.

“This game actually ended up knocking Dumont out of the state tournament," said Horton. "It was a very big game for us. We had collectively more kills in this game than any other with 38.”

Fort Lee continued their run on Thursday, when they defeated Lyndhurst in two sets, 25-18; 25-22. The Lady Bridgemen fell on Friday however to a tough Tenafly team, losing 2-0 (19-25; 8-25).

The girls will look to bounce back on Tuesday, when they host Cliffside Park at 4:15 p.m.

Girls Tennis

The Lady Bridgemen went 1-1 this week. The team defeated Westwood High School 3-2 on Monday afternoon in a close match. The team then geared up for what is always a tough match at Tenafly on Friday. The Lady Bridgemen were swept 4-0 in that match, and coach Sheri Steckler was disappointed.

“I felt like this year, out of every year I’ve coached, I thought we would beat Tenafly," Steckler said.

The team will look to get back on the right track on Monday afternoon, when they host Cliffside Park at 4:15 p.m.

Cross Country

The Lady Bridgemen finished in seventh place on Saturday at the Bergen County Championship meet. Sophomore Melanie Plattner led the way and finished in 17th place. Plattner's time of 21:30 qualified her for the Bergen County Meet of Champions, an extremely prestigious event in New Jersey.

Coach Ed Garrison is very pleased with how the season went for both the boys and girls teams.

"The boys had an excellent team performance and would have done better if injured senior Dariel Vasquez had not suffered an injury two weeks ago," Garrison said. "I am extremely proud of sophomore Melanie Plattner’s performance, as she has continued to improve week-by-week. She has a great future ahead."

Co-Athletes of the Week

Jen Valdeon (girls soccer) and Frankie Goris (football)

Jen Valdeon is a senior defender for the Lady Bridgemen soccer team, and she lived up to her position last week.

Valdeon made countless big defensive plays during the week, stopping breakaways and keeping Fort Lee in their games. Valdeon even had numerous bruises on her leg from diving all over the field.

It has been getting emotional for the seniors on this team, who have only one week left of being Fort Lee High School teammates. Valdeon knows they want to make the most of the coming week.

“We want to win as many games as we can and end up with a better record than we have right now," she said.

Frankie Goris had a big night on Friday when the Bridgemen football team defeated Englewood, 19-0.

Goris had a 101-yard touchdown and another touchdown off a fumble recovery. Both plays really got the team going and set the tone for what turned out to be a special senior night for the Bridgemen.

Head coach Bill Straub loved what he saw out of the whole team and was proud and happy for all of his seniors, including Goris.