VanDyke and Indian Hills impress No. 3 Ramsey – boys soccer review

Indian Hills began the second half with a surprising burst of offensive aggression and the end result was perhaps the state’s biggest upset of the season.

Steven VanDyke scored from 25 yards just 15 seconds into the second half, making the difference as Indian Hills defeated Ramsey, No. 3 in the NJ.com Top 20, 1-0 in Oakland.

The result ended a 31-game unbeaten streak, the best nationally for Ramsey, who had not lost since the 2002 Group 2 state final.

After a scoreless first 40 minutes, Indian Hills had possession early in the second half and passed the ball to center back Aaron Faynblut. Faynblut sent a booming pass down the left to Van Dyke, who broke away from the defender and directed a shot inside the far post for the goal.

“We played more defensively than in a typical game,” said head coach Christopher Mayer. “We have some guys in the back who can play and we have a really great Steven. So we like to look like him and use his athleticism, and it just worked out.”

LJ Renshaw made 11 saves to secure the shutout for Indian Hills.

Saturday was a clear highlight of what has been a challenging season at times for Indian Hills (3-4-1). Dylan Biernacki, an All-Bergen County forward a year ago, was sidelined with an injury less than 20 minutes into this season.

“We’ve stuck with that mantra of ‘bond of brothers’ right now and tried to do it with that mentality of sticking together,” Mayer said. “I think that message started to resonate a little bit (after Thursday’s draw at River Dell). We try to lift each other up with that mentality of no matter what, let’s be there for each other.”

Ramsey falls to 5-1-2 this season.

The NJ High School Sports newsletter now arrives in inboxes five days a week. Register now!

Follow us on social networks: Facebook | Instagram | X (formerly Twitter)