Elena Pothos scored three goals and Old Tappan claimed the North 1, Group 3 girls soccer title with a 4-1 win over Ramapo on a chilly afternoon in Old Tappan on November 13. The Golden Knights secured their first sectional crown since 2022, when they competed in Group 2, defeating Ramapo for the second time this season after a penalty shootout victory in the Bergen County Tournament.
Old Tappan coach Maia Levenshus said she expected a tough rematch after their first victory over Ramapo in 15 years. “I told my team when we beat them in PKs we would see this team again,” she said. “That was our first time beating them in like 15 years, and I knew they were going to want to come back and get us.”
The match began with Ramapo controlling possession against the wind, but Old Tappan struck early. Pothos, who recently committed to Rutgers, made a decisive run 40 yards along the sideline and was fouled inside the box. She converted the penalty kick low to her right just three minutes in. “It went a little more toward the middle than I wanted,” Pothos said, “but it worked out in my favor.”
Ramapo responded 10 minutes later with a goal from Cameron McKee, leveling the score at 1-1. The match remained tense, with Ramapo pressing against the wind, but Old Tappan gradually gained control. Levenshus attributed some early nerves to her young roster. “I got a young team, I mean, I have some older kids, but some young kids and there was maybe some pressure in the moment,” she said. “We just played through it.”
Five minutes into the second half, Pothos struck again from the top of the 18-yard box to put the Golden Knights ahead 2-1. The decisive moment came with just over 10 minutes remaining when freshman defender Ella Candullo launched a long, arcing shot from nearly 40 yards out. The ball sailed over the Ramapo goalkeeper, sending the Old Tappan bench into celebration. “End of the game, you want to get the ball up the field,” Candullo said. “The keeper plays high, so I said let me try to chip her.”
Pothos added her third goal a few minutes later, a powerful strike that sealed the victory and brought her season total to 31 goals. Levenshus praised Pothos’s intensity and leadership. “Every single day, it’s like her first day out there,” she said. “She wants to win. She competes with her teammates – sometimes too much, sometime we have to tell her to dial it back, but I’ll take her on my team over any kid in the country.”
Following the match and a team-wide TikTok celebration dance, Pothos reflected on the team’s goals. “From the start, we have wanted to win a state sectional,” she said. “My team set goals at the start of the season, win the league and then we told ourselves we wanted to win the section. Every day we remind ourselves of that, push one more practice, one more game. Hard work pays off.”
Old Tappan will face Chatham in the Group 3 semifinals on November 17. Levenshus called the win a personal milestone. “It’s my first sectional as a head coach,” she said. “I’ve experienced it as an assistant and as a player and there’s nothing like being at the helm and leaving it up to the girls to prove who they are and they came out as tough as they could and sent a message.”
According to Yahoo Sports.
