RAHWAY, NJ — With less than 14 minutes remaining, Rahway High School sophomore forward-midfielder Ruben Oliveira fired a shot from about 20 yards out that beat the Randolph High School goalie and banged off the top right of the crossbar.
Rahway was that close.
The Indians were just inches away right there from making program history.
Instead, it was the visiting Rams who achieved a milestone for the first time in 38 years.
Randolph forward David Martinez managed to fire a rebound shot with his right foot off of Rahway goalkeeper Sebastian Grisales that reached the back of the net with just 15.5 seconds remaining in the second Golden Goal overtime to lift North 1, Group 3 champion Randolph past North 2, Group 3 champ Rahway 1-0 on the thrilling Group 3 semifinal contested at Rahway River Park on Tuesday night, Nov. 19.
It was the ultimate thrill of victory for Randolph vs. the agony of a defeat for Rahway, after both teams battled evenly for nearly 100 minutes, each leaving everything they had on the field of play.
For the host Indians, they were 15.5 seconds away from deciding the match in a kicks-from-the-penalty mark shootout to see which team was going to advance to play South Jersey, Group 3 sectional state champion Shawnee High School in the Group 3 state championship game.
Rahway won its first sectional game at home against Millburn High School in a kicks-from-the-penalty mark shootout, en route to capturing North 2, Group 3 for the first time since 2019.
Rahway, which put forth a brilliant effort all the way around, was that close to reaching its first-ever group final.
For Randolph, the Rams reached their third final and first since 1986. Randolph lost the Group 3 final to Wall in 1981 and shared the crown with Lakewood in 1986. Randolph lost in the Group 3 semifinals in 1996 to Scotch Plains-Fanwood.
Randolph and Shawnee were to battle for the 2024 Group 3 state championship on Sunday, Nov. 24, at Franklin High School.
Group 3 Final
Sunday, Nov. 24
At Franklin: N1 Randolph (16-5-3) vs. SJ Shawnee (20-2-1)
Group 3 Semifinals
Tuesday, Nov. 19
At Rahway: N1 champ Randolph 1, N2 champ Rahway 0 (2OT)
At Shawnee: SJ champ Shawnee 1, CJ champ Long Branch 0
Both Rahway and Randolph had several chances over the course of regulation and overtime, with Rahway keeper Grisales tested a bit more when it came to dangerous attempts. It was a classic state tournament match where both teams deserved to advance based on how consistently competitive they each were.
After a rather uneventful first overtime period, Rahway cleared back-to-back Randolph corner kicks with just over five minutes to go.
After Rahway’s Westley Jean Mary and Randolph’s Andrei Nitulescu collided in the Randolph penalty area, Rams goalie Gavin Vichengrad had to come out of his area beyond the 18 and head the ball away to clear it.
A Randolph shot was then blocked by Rahway’s Aiden McKenna, resulting in a Randolph throw in as the clock was now less than one minute to go. What followed was a scrum in the middle of the Rahway penalty area.
First, a shot was blocked, and then a rebound was also stopped, before it went any further. However, Martinez was then able to extend his right leg and muscle the ensuing rebound off Grisales and into the net. Jared Goldschmidt was credited with an assist.
“He got a piece of it, but it appeared that Sebastian was screened on that final shot,” Rahway head coach Kevin O’Callahan said.
Grisales made four saves and Vichengrad made five.
It’s better when these do-or-die games are decided during the course of regulation or overtime and not in a shootout from the penalty mark; however, only one team can advance and that team was not Rahway this time.
“We’ve had a good game plan for all of these state tournament matches and our kids really carried them out,” said O’Callahan, at the helm of the Indians since 2002. “The kids worked so hard to get to this point. We have so many memories. This game will be a memory for them.”
It took some time for both teams to produce their first shots. Randolph left-footed junior midfielder Jake Rubin fired first from the left side 14 minutes in, with Grisales making a right-handed save.
Rahway’s first shot was taken by Oliveira at the 25:50 mark, a right-footed blast blocked by a Randolph defender.
Rahway junior back Ryan Ayariga cleared every ball his way, while freshman right wing Jayden Morris used his speed and athleticism to create havoc for Randolph defenders. Freshman forward Ethan Carillo also made his presence felt on the attack.
“We thought we could score off a re-start,” McCallahan said. “They are a very good defensive team, so we wanted to control the midfield. I thought we did a really good job.”
Rahway had consecutive corner kicks at the beginning of the second half, both cleared by Randolph defenders.
Following the near goal by Oliveira later in the second half, Grisales came up with a two-hand save of a shot close to the left post. Grisales then made a quick one-handed save of a shot from a corner kick with just 3:35 to go before overtime.
“I’m so proud of the way our kids played,” McCallahan said. “We had an unbelievable season.
“This has been a resilient group all year long.”
Rahway Indians 2024
North 2, Group 3 Sectional State Champs
Group 3 Semifinalists
The players:
30-Sebastian Grisales, senior goalkeeper
00-Fransico Gonzalez, senior goalkeeper
1-Yurem Riveria, sophomore, midfielder-forward
2-Nathan Jimminez, junior
3-Ethan Grijales, junior
4-Kevin Mendez, senior back
5-Ryan Ayariga, junior back-forward
6-Kyler Richards, senior midfielder-back
7-Ruben Oliveira, sophomore forward-midfielder
8-Aiden McKenna, sophomore midfielder
9-Ethan Carillo, freshman midfielder-forward
10-Ethan Ortez, freshman midfielder-forward
11-Jayden Philantrope, sophomore midfielder
12-Bryan Marin, senior midfielder-forward
13-Victor Hernandez, sophomore
14-Jayden Morris, freshman forward-midfielder
15-Jah’sean Williams, senior forward
16-Maylens Demosthene, junior
17-Westley Jean Mary, freshman
18-Bradon Nguyen, senior midfielder
19-Alex Ouono, freshman
20-Yahir Linares, senior back
22-Kevin Solano, senior midfielder
23-Szymon Studzinski, senior back-midfielder
Addas Alekvavicius, goalkeeper
Starters vs. Randolph: GK-Grisales, Mendez, Ayariga, Richards, Oliveira, McKenna, Carillo, Ortez, Philantrope, Morris, Jean Mary.
Head coach: Kevin O’Callahan
Assistants: Thomas Crowell, Carlos Sabates, Juan Garay
2024 Boys Soccer
North 2, Group 3
Rahway Indians Champs
First time since 2019
Seeds
1-Summit. 2-South Plainfield. 3-Cranford. 4-Rahway. 5-North Hunterdon Regional. 6-Colonia. 7-Chatham. 8-West Side. 9-North Plainfield. 10-Middletown North. 11-Nutley. 12-Warren Hills Regional. 13-Millburn. 14-Carteret. 15-Somerville. 16-Newark Central.
First Round
Tuesday, Nov. 5
Summit 6, Newark Central 1 – at Summit
North Plainfield 3, West Side 0 – at West Side
North Hunterdon Regional 2, Watchung Hills Regional 1 – at North Hunterdon Regional
Rahway 1, Millburn 0 (PKs) – at Rahway
Cranford 6, Carteret 1 – at Cranford
Colonia 4, Nutley 1 – at Colonia
Chatham 4, Middletown North 3 – at Chatham
South Plainfield 4, Somerville 3 – at South Plainfield
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 8
Summit 3, North Plainfield 2 – at Summit
Rahway 2, North Hunterdon Regional 0 – at Rahway
Cranford 2, Colonia 1 – at Cranford
South Plainfield 1, Chatham 0 – at South Plainfield
Semifinals
Tuesday, Nov. 12
Rahway 2, Summit 1 – at Summit
South Plainfield 1, Cranford 0 – at South Plainfield
Final
Friday, Nov. 15
Rahway 1, South Plainfield 0 – at South Plainfield
Photos by JR Parachini