Monday, January 10, 2011
It was an emotional night for the Dumont head coach in his return to Fort Lee.
Ken MacIver was an assistant coach with the Fort Lee Bridgemen for the last three seasons. During that time he fulfilled the role of mentor, coach and driving instructor to some of Fort Lee's wrestlers and is even the godfather of coach Alex Almeyda’s son. But Monday culminated in a new role for MacIver as he was now the opponent of Fort Lee in a make-up wrestling match from last Friday’s snowstorm. MacIver returned to his alma mater this year as the head coach of the Dumont Huskies program and entered the contest with a little more than just wrestling on his mind. “I wouldn’t have left Alex and the boys unless it was my high school,” an emotional MacIver said shortly after the match. “I knew what we were in for, and I had a good scouting …
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Mattessich and Mattesich team up for a combined 19 points in the 40-25 win.
Despite losing senior forward Bindi Parikh to a foot injury, the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen were able to overcome her absence in a 40-25 road win against the Memorial Tigers. After losing back-to-back games entering Saturday’s action, Fort Lee was in full pursuit of avoiding a possible three-game losing streak. The Lady Bridgemen started the game by winning the tip, working for a good shot and finding junior guard Ally Long for a corner three. Fort Lee scored seven of the first eight points in the game. The last points of that stretch were scored by Parikh, whose night ended when she was taken out of the game a few minutes later. “When Bindi got hurt we stepped up as a team,” said junior guard Megan Gimson. “We all have our own role, but she…
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Second half proves costly for Fort Lee girls' basketball team, who fell to Dumont Thursday night 57-42.
After entering halftime tied, all signs pointed to the Dumont Huskies and the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen playing a close game until the final buzzer. But halfway through the third quarter, Dumont took control with an 11-0 run on their way to remaining undefeated. “We really wanted to beat our rival and come out with fire,” said Fort Lee senior guard Brianna Mattessich. “We were playing with them the whole time. Then in the second half, we came out and turnovers killed us.” Fort Lee head coach Stacie Zafiris prepared countless hours for Dumont and was not pleased with the final outcome. “Again, we beat ourselves,” said Zafiris. “I don’t think that they earned the win. I think we gave them the win.” The night began with turnovers on both sides …
A reversal of fortune helps Fort Lee get right back on track.
The holiday season is usually very busy with very little free time. But throw a blizzard into the mix, and all of a sudden, the holidays just became a little bit more hectic. With all of the hours spent with family, and maybe even more hours shoveling, you can see where it may be difficult for a student athlete to find practice time in late December. This is one of the albeit unusual dilemmas that plagued the Fort Lee bowling team during the past week. Many of the co-ed bowlers made plans to practice during vacation but were forced to break from their normal routines due to the circumstances. "I was so used to getting up and going to school, and then bowling after school," said senior bowler David Daniels. "Then you couldn't even go …
Cliffside Park scores the final 38 team points in the 50-19 victory.
With the lights dimmed and the crowd filling nearly every seat in the gym, the Fort Lee Bridgemen wrestling team took to the mats for their home opener against Cliffside Park Wednesday night. Before the match, junior Demir Radoncic pumped up the Bridgemen with chants of "Let's go," and "Go hard!" Most of the wrestlers said they were excited to wrestle in front of the home crowd, and some even admitted to being a bit nervous. "I had some pregame jitters," said senior Anatoliy Alkazov. Freshman wrestler Devin Sokolicn went even further with describing the atmosphere. "Scary," Sokolicn said. "[The] heart was racing, blood was pumping." But the final message from Radoncic may have set the tone for an early Fort Lee advantage. "They don't …
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Nelson Mendez leads the Scarlets with a game high 24 points.
Separated by just five miles, the rivalry between Fort Lee and Ridgefield Park grows large in just the small amount of space that divides the two New Jersey towns. It is a rivalry where the Scarlets and Bridgemen simply do not like each other, and on Tuesday night, it was Ridgefield Park that walked away with bragging rights in a 52-40 win. One of the key components of the victory was the play of Nelson Mendez, the Scarlets' senior forward. Mendez utilized his inside presence and post-up maneuvers to lead all players with a game-high 24 points. "Mendez is the best player in the league," said Fort Lee head coach John Ziemba. "He made some unbelievable shots." "He just gets free and gets open," added sophomore center Anthony Rafes. "He's a …
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Fort Lee finishes Jack Reilly basketball tournament in sixth place.
The Fort Lee boys basketball team hoped to carry the momentum of a win over Mahwah into the new year, but the Bridgemen were tripped up against Montclair on Sunday 53-36. With the win, the Montclair Bulldogs finished fifth in the Jack Reilly Tournament, leaving the Bridgemen looking at what went wrong. "Thursday we had so much more energy," said sophomore guard Nick Gentile. "Today we were all dead." With a noon start time, Fort Lee head coach John Ziemba emphasized that the team with the quicker start would have the edge in this contest, and it was Montclair who did just that. "We came out, made two mistakes early and were down 4-0 eight seconds into the game," Ziemba said. "To me, that set the tone." Just a few minutes into the contest…
Girls Basketball wins a championship, and all teams hope for a successful new year.
Looking forward to 2011, the Fort Lee athletics program hopes the new year turns out to be a lot like how the last year ended. On the very last day of 2010, the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen defeated the Park Ridge Owls to win the Lyndhurst Girl's Basketball Holiday Tournament. Senior forward Bindi Parikh was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament after scoring 25 points and senior guard Brianna Mattessich was also named to the All-Tournament team along with her teammate. It was the second straight championship for the Lady Bridgemen, who are now 2-2 this season and looking forward to the week ahead. They have three more games to worry about this week, including a tough road game against Ridgefield Park on Tuesday, back home against …
Friday, December 31, 2010
Fort Lee goes back-to-back to win their second consecutive Lyndhurst Holiday Tournament championship.
Make room on the mantle! The Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen won their second straight holiday tournament Friday, defeating the Park Ridge Owls 50-46 in Lyndhurst. Senior forward Bindi Parikh led all players with 25 points on her way to being named the tournament's most valuable player. Senior guard Brianna Mattessich added 15 points in the program's historic victory. Fort Lee has now won the tournament in consecutive years for the first time. They also gained a little revenge on Park Ridge for beating them in the finals in 2008. "Two years ago, we watched [Park Ridge] get their trophies," said Fort Lee head coach Stacie Zafiris. "It was almost like those players from two years ago made a vow to not have that feeling again." Early on, Fort Lee …
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Bridgemen basketball team kept its composure in a physical fourth quarter for the victory at home in the Jack Reilly Boys Basketball Tournament.
The Fort Lee Bridgemen took advantage of two late technical fouls, earning their first win of the season in a come-from-behind 42-39 victory against the Mahwah Thunderbolts. The win also secures Fort Lee another game on Sunday against Montclair as Mahwah was eliminated from the Jack Reilly Boys Basketball Tournament. After going 0-4 to start the year, the Bridgemen were ecstatic to get the win. "We needed a win in 2010," said Fort Lee coach John Ziemba. "I know we have a tough team to play on Sunday, but we needed this win so bad." To begin the night, Fort Lee held Mahwah to just five points in the first quarter, something many of the players attributed to the return of senior forward George Padin. "It helped us a lot, and our team defense…
Mike Radomski
12:45 pm on Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Thank you for the positive feedback Leslie. I'm glad you enjoyed the article more ›