The feeling was unfamiliar and nauseating.
A week after being upset by Pascack Valley in a shocking season-opening result, Northern Highlands found itself down a goal to Demarest, No. 11 in the NJ.com Top 20. That goal marked the first time Demarest had scored on Northern Highlands in over a decade. Completely uncharted waters.
Was it time for the tide to turn in Bergen County?
Nope. Northern Highlands wasn’t ready to let that happen.
The Highlanders stormed back and Carly Riembauer evened the score off a rebound in the 64th minute. Then, senior Brooke Boyer gave Northern Highlands the lead, 2-1, for good with a goal in the 73rd minute, capping off the comeback and seal the Highlanders’ first win of 2019.
“We were already playing with such high energy, so I knew as soon as they scored that our energy was only going to get higher," said Boyer. “We’ve been working on keeping ourselves up in games and doing it all game long. I told myself after that goal, ‘This isn’t it. We’re coming back.’ We had to. There was no other choice. We needed this win.”
Northern Highlands started the year on the wrong foot last week.
In coach Nickolette Driesse’s debut, nationally-ranked Northern Highlands was shocked by Pascack Valley, falling 2-0. It was an outcome that no one could have envisioned and one that put into question what kind of team Northern Highlands would be this fall.
A tie against No. 14 Wayne Valley this past weekend was promising.
But Northern Highlands was still searching for a win.
So, when Demarest’s Abby Rozen scored in the 45th minute, it put Northern Highlands in make-or-break mode.
Two different paths opened up for Northern Highlands, but in the Highlanders’ minds, there was only one way the game was ending.
Boyer made that a reality when she ran onto a Hannah Feeley pass and tapped in the game-winner with less than 10 minutes to play. The defense held on late and made sure the Highlanders were walking off with the W.
“The Pascack Valley game was completely different than this," said Boyer. "I think maybe we came out a little too far ahead of ourselves and we thought we hard it easily. We learned from that game though. When we lose together, it just creates a stronger bond. You never want to feel like that again and you don’t want your team to feel like that ever again.”
Now that it’s back in the win column, Northern Highlands is dangerous.
This team is full of players who know how to get the job done.
Fairfield commit Reagan Klarmann was a terror in the midfield all night and she’ll be a big-time playmaker going forward. The defense hunkered down late behind the play of defenders Grace Smiechowski, Allie Hite, Carolyn Weinberger and Caitlyn Kunisch and goalie Anna Sciuto.
Some things are different in Allendale, but the expectations are the same.
Northern Highlands is still the defending Group 3 champion and the four-time defending Bergen County champ. One game will not define this season and the Highlanders proved that on Tuesday.
“This team has heart," said Driesse. “You could just see the girls faces and hear it in their voices that they didn’t want to lose tonight. They just put the Northern Highlands uniform on and remembered what we’re meant to do. Every single girl that comes through this program wants to win and they want to represent Northern Highlands.
"It’s what they’ve been waiting for.”
Brandon Gould may be reached at bgould@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrandonGouldHS. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.