With the fall sports season winding down at Cranford High School, focus has turned to postseason play. Sectional tournaments bring upsets, nail-biters, and drama—everything we love about high school sports. Two CHS teams, varsity boys and girls soccer, experienced all the magic of the state tournament this weekend, each winning instant classics.
The boys team took the stage Friday night under the lights at Memorial Field, facing a tough Rahway squad in the 3-seed vs. 6-seed matchup. Although Cranford held the higher seed, the Cougars knew the challenge ahead after a heartbreaking 3–2 loss to Rahway in September. Determined to make a statement, Cranford exploded out of the gate, scoring four times before halftime. Manan Shah, Will Dubosq, Caden Calderon, and Jake Burke all found the back of the net, giving the Cougars a commanding 4–0 lead at the break.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Cranford looked poised to cruise into the semifinals. But with 25 minutes left, Christian Nunez put Rahway on the board. Minutes later, Rahway struck again. And then again. In just ten minutes, a potential blowout had become a nail-biter. Cranford suddenly faced the task of holding off a surging Rahway team with all the momentum. In a tense, physical final stretch, the Cougars dug in defensively and held on to win 4–3.
The next afternoon brought more drama. Under warm skies at Memorial Field, the girls team hosted tenth-seeded Summit in their quarterfinal matchup. Like the boys, Cranford entered as the higher seed—and like the boys, they had fallen to this same opponent earlier in the season. For much of the game, it looked like history would repeat itself. Summit struck early with a beautiful goal, and Cranford couldn’t find a way past standout goalkeeper Ava Hogan.
That changed with three minutes left. Sarah Suh sent a perfect cross to the back post, where Ava Cao met it with a powerful header to tie the game at one. The match headed into golden-goal overtime. Both sides, exhausted but relentless, battled for the winner. Summit pressed with several chances, but Cranford keeper Vanessa Kelly refused to let the season end. As the final seconds ticked down, penalty kicks seemed inevitable—until Lillian Friedman fed Isabella Reibarkh, who turned and fired a picture-perfect shot into the bottom corner with just 13 seconds remaining. Cranford stormed the field in celebration.
It was a thrilling two days at Memorial Field, with both teams advancing to the sectional semifinals. The boys will host seventh-seeded Millburn on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Memorial Field. The next day, the girls face third-seeded Middletown South, also at Memorial, time to be announced. After a weekend of high drama, both squads will look to keep their postseason magic alive.
