MONTCLAIR- Thoughts of yet another heartbreaking loss had to be going through the mind of Montclair Kimberley Academy coach Rob Leather along with seniors such as star defender Braedan Keegan, who have seen far too many past late-game situations against Non-Public, North B rival Gill St. Bernard’s end with a narrow state tournament defeat.
Not this time.
Thanks in large measure to a clutch Keegan game-tying goal, a header off a well-placed cross from Max Ludlow, with just 1:31 remaining, MKA tied Gill, 2-2, sending the match into overtime.
Then, after two scoreless 10-minute OT sessions, there was the shootout where MKA senior goalkeeper Jan Hegna stopped two penalty kicks while the Cougars made all four of theirs to clinch a 4-2 edge in PKs and the Cougars’ first state sectional title since 2013, and the first for Leather.
MKA (14-6-1) moves on to the overall Non-Public B state championship match on Sunday vs. South B champ Ranney at Franklin High School in Somerset County which is the site of all the NJSIAA soccer state finals.
“I think I’ve lost seven sectional finals so I’m definitely relieved winning this one,” said the 12th-year MKA coach. “I thought we might be cursed when Braedan had earlier hit the post, but we just kept going and Max (Ludlow) played a great ball to Braedan and you have to go low and hard around (Gill goalkeeper) Felipe (Zumbado) and the header was perfect because anything body height or high for Felipe, who has great agility, is not going to go in against him.
“It’s hard to beat a good team twice in 10 days (MKA also beat Gill, 4-0, in the prep B tourney final) and we knew they would come out with something extra and different, which they did.”
Keegan, who has been a 4-year mainstay as a top defender for MKA, including earning Non-Public all-state honors last fall, simply reacted the best way he could when the ball came near him for a moment of truth in this season and in his career with just 91 ticks left on the clock to make something impactful happen after Gill (11-10) had been able to hold its 2-1 lead since scoring two quick goals scored by Robbie Judd and then Derek Palmieri within a span of 4:44 after Solomon Lucas had given MKA a 1-0 lead with 19:00 remaining in the first half.
“I just ran up into the box and saw the beautiful cross coming in from Max,” said the Cougars’ senior co-captain. “All I had to do was find some free space in the net and I did that.”
With two of the state’s best goalkeepers defending their nets it was not surprising that there were two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods.
Then, the penalty kick shootout when it would all be decided was there to commence as the onset of darkness was beginning to invade the skies over Van Brunt Field.
For Hegna, the rangy 6-foot-6 Harvard University-bound senior keeper, the shootout was a challenge he welcomed.
“I love PKs, they are just amazing,” he said. “Everything is on the strikers. You can pull all the shenanigans you want, but it is a moment of pride for the goalkeeper.
