The top spot in the North Jersey boys soccer rankings has changed hands again after a week full of upsets.
Bergen Catholic takes over as the No. 1 team with Clifton suffering its first loss last Thursday. The Crusaders are in first place in their division with the leading scorer in the Big North (Sebastian Ortega) and one of the most productive offenses in the state (4.6 goals per game).
Ramsey and Tenafly own the next two spots behind Bergen Catholic as the only other unbeaten teams in the Big North.
Deciphering the bottom half of the rankings is a more complicated puzzle with not much separating teams in the mid-teens and those just outside the poll. We’ve reached a point in the season where it’s more about looking at the big picture rather than evaluating each game on a granular level.
One more thing to consider as we gear up for a weekend full of county quarterfinals: Scoring is up this season across North Jersey, both in the Big North (from 2.08 to 2.11) and the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference (2.36 to 2.59). Will the pattern continue once the games mean more? Only time will tell.
Top 25 rankings
- Bergen Catholic 8-0-2
- Ramsey 9-0-1
- Tenafly 7-0-2
- Old Tappan 7-1
- Clifton 6-1-1
- Ramapo 6-2
- Demarest 4-3-2
- Don Bosco 5-2-1
- Pompton Lakes 8-0
- Glen Rock 6-1
- Cliffside Park 6-1-1
- Waldwick 7-1
- Garfield 7-0
- Passaic Tech 7-2
- Lakeland 8-1-1
- Ridgewood 5-3
- DePaul 4-2-1
- Wayne Valley 5-3
- Pascack Valley 4-3-1
- Dwight-Englewood 4-3
- Rutherford 4-3
- Wallington 7-4
- Wood-Ridge 8-3-1
- Hasbrouck Heights 5-3
- Bergenfield 5-5
(Records through Tuesday.)
Moving on up
The rankings took on a much different complexion this week with three newcomers to the list – DePaul (17), Dwight-Englewood (20) and Bergenfield (25) – not to mention the return of Wayne Valley.
The arrival of the Bears underscores the depth in their division as five Big North National teams are now in the rankings. No other division has more than three. The Bears punched their ticket by beating Mahwah, 1-0, on Sunday on an overtime goal by Owen Gonzalez. It was the only road win in the opening round of the Bergen County tournament.
North Jersey stat leaders
GOALS
Andrew Armstrong, Pompton Lakes 23
Salvatore Catanzaro, Wood-Ridge 17
Will Beckmann, Midland Park 15
Sebastian Ortega, Bergen Catholic 14
Christian Cruz, DePaul 14
Brian Harasek, Wood-Ridge 13
Kevin Contreras, Old Tappan 13
Nicholas Pastula, Bergen Charter 13
Brenden Baeza, Garfield 13
Chihiro Suenaga, Hasbrouck Heights 11
Julian Ruehlemann, Waldwick 11
Saif Ahmed, Becton 10
Steven Longo, Becton 10
Frankie DeFrancesco, DePaul 10
Eric Moroz, Wallington 10
Jack Guerin, Weehawken 10
Christopher Marroquin, Bergen Charter 10
ASSISTS
Saif Ahmed, Becton 11
Anthony Ayala, Passaic 10
Ryan Chong, Bergen Catholic 10
Juan Lopez, Weehawken 10
Brian Harasek, Wood-Ridge 9
Guglielmo Picariello, Bergen Catholic 8
Johannes Alvarez, Garfield 8
Leland Gonzalez, Garfield 8
Stefan Jastrzembski, Pompton Lakes 8
Robert Dasler Jr., Lyndhurst 8
Anthony Squiciari, Hasbrouck Heights 7
Chihiro Suenaga, Hasbrouck Heights 7
Daniel Grudkov, Secaucus 7
Connor Mohan, Pompton Lakes 7
Gavin Sexton, Wayne Hills 7
Frankie DeFrancesco, DePaul 7
Shahan Zamanian Rad, Don Bosco 7
Jack Meserole, Dwight-Englewood 7
Daniel Castro, Wood-Ridge 7
Jack Guerin, Weehawken 7
Theodore Swanson, Weehawken 7
SAVES
Jaccard Simmons, Teaneck 117
Samuel Stanko, Wallington 104
Domenic Maucione, Becton 70
Victor Ciach, Lakeland 67
Joshua Bells, Fair Lawn 65
Samir Varela, Ridgefield Park 62
Stuart Estrada, Hasbrouck Heights 61
Antonio Herrera, Park Ridge 60
Joseph Virga, Eastern Christian 59
Gamaliel Perde, Hawthorne Christian 59
Matthew Makar, Lyndhurst 57
Dominic Lenoir, West Milford 53
Dylan Stark, Mahwah 54
Ian Marcu, Weehawken 51
Justin Torres, Bergenfield 50
Angel Osuna, Ridgefield 50
Fraymer Fernandez, Weehawken 50
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