ROBBINSVILLE — Ethan Pagani’s body was hurting. The senior midfielder with the Robbinsville High boys’ soccer team was dealing with cramps in his legs and his side as his second-seeded squad headed into overtime with seventh-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven Friday night in the second round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II Tournament at the Steven J. Mayer Athletic Complex.
With Ravens’ leading scorer Nick Grippa out from the second half on after taking a hit to the head in the first 40 minutes, all of head coach Jeff Fisher’s players knew they needed to step up, and they did. Pagani, who could barely walk late in the second half, fought through the pain and came up biggest when he worked a beautiful give-and-go with classmate Mitchell Shapiro to produce the game-winning goal with 3:54 left in the first 10 minutes of OT as R’ville prevailed, 2-1. With the victory, the Ravens (18-1-2) will get to host sixth-seeded Manasquan Tuesday after the 13-6-1 Big Blue Warriors upset second-seeded Bordentown, 3-2.
“This was a really draining game, and I was cramping,” Salisbury University-bound Pagani said. “With Nick out, I had to play winger, which is not a position I’m used to playing. There was a lot of running, and everything hurts.
” It even hurt to smile, which Pagani was doing a lot of after putting away his 12th goal of the season in the extra session. “Mitchell gave me an outside-of-the-foot pass that somehow got through two defenders,” Pagani said. “I jus.
