Union County Tournament: Rams Earn Big Win Against Planfield In Round 1

The Rams were seeded as the #14 seed in the 2023 Union County Tournament. This meant that the Rams would have to go on the road in round one against a Plainfield team they played just two days prior. The Rams were very familiar with Plainfield last season as they beat them 7-1 away and 6-0 at home. This season the Rams played the Cardinals on Cavalero Field, in which it turned out to be a crucial 5-2 win. The only thing that changed this time around was the turf to grass field, and many Plainfield defenders coming back from injury. The Rams started off very slow as many of their shots on the offensive side just missed. Three minutes into the game Plainfield struck first gaining a very early 1-0 lead. The Rams saw many chances as the first half came to a close, but it just looked like it would be Plainfield’s game. The Rams were rewarded with a corner kick with ten minutes to go in the half. Henry Griffiths would cross one in to find Jack Olohan for the goal. OP Footy finally found some momentum in which Griffiths earned his 7th assists of the season in which he leads the team in that category. Olohan netted his second career varsity goal, and his first of the season to put the game back at all square.  The second half would be a different story when referring to goals. Neither side found the net once in the second half. OP had some chances with a cross bar shot, PK, and just wide misses. Since it was all sqaure at the end of the half, the game would go to “Golden Goal” overtime. Overtime was on the same page as the second half, in which both Plainfield and Oratory both did not score at all in 20 minutes. Since this was a county game, the Rams and the Cardinals would go to PKs. Oratory netted their first three, and Plainfield had only made one of their three shots, with two of them being saved. The match would be on Henry Griffiths’ shoulders. Griffiths faced backwards, turned around, lifted his leg, struck, and found the net. Griffiths celebrated Oratory’s win in dramatic fashion by taking off his jersey and running to the corner to celebrate with his teammates. George Fagan had five saves, as Oratory advances to the second round of counties where they face Governor Livingston away on Saturday.