Instant analysis: Bergen County boys soccer quarterfinals

The Final Four is finally set.

Defending-champion Ramapo will lead off the semifinal doubleheader next Saturday against Bergen Catholic, while No. 3 Ridgewood will battle Cliffside Park for the other spot in the championship. Those matches will start at 5 and 7:15 p.m. at Ramsey High School.

Here's a closer look at the four teams who advanced from the quarterfinals on Sunday at Ramapo.

(3) Ridgewood 3, Demarest 2

In one year, Ridgewood has gone from the Bergen Cup to the Bergen County semifinals.

One explanation? The arrival of super sophomore Cameron Linnington.

Linngton scored twice in the first 20 minutes to continue an eye-opening week and send the Maroons back to their first semifinal since 2019. The Ridgewood striker has looked like a seasoned pro on the big stage with six goals in his first two county matches. It's a little better than what he imagined during tryouts back in August.

"I was just hoping over the summer that I would make the varsity team," said Linnington, who opened the scoring by heading in a cross from older brother, Aidan. "Once I made it, I was really happy. I wasn't expecting to get as much playing time as I am."

Linnington now leads the Maroons with 10 goals this season after putting up 17 on the freshman level a year ago.

Senior Lucas Barker put Ridgewood up three in the 21st minute with a header that turned out to be the winning goal. Ridgewood goalie Lucas Barrales stopped a crucial penalty kick in the 73rd minute when the score was still 3-1.

"I'm beyond happy," Barrales said. "Last year was my first time playing varsity and we didn't make counties and this feeling is amazing. I'm happy that my teammates are giving everything they've got."

Cliffside Park 0, Rutherford 0 (Cliffside Park advances in penalty kicks, 6-5.)

Henry Valles wanted the ball on his foot.

A discussion broke out in the Cliffside Park huddle near midfield after six rounds of penalty kicks were not enough to decide the quarterfinal match against Rutherford. A Red Raiders coach polled the group to see who would step up next. Valles raised his voice when another teammate volunteered to take the kick.

"I was really confident," Valles said. "I really wanted to shoot it. He's like, I'll give it to you."

The sophomore forward shot the Red Raiders into the semifinal with a laser to the top left corner. It completed a 6-5 win in seven rounds of penalties after 100 minutes of scoreless but high-intensity soccer. Credit the Red Raiders for weathering the storm after going down a man with 9:40 left in double overtime.

"My kids work hard," coach Carmine Cambareri said. "That's one thing about us. Our kids are great. They never give up. There might be days where we don't play well but at the end of the day, whoever works the hardest and puts themselves in a position to be successful, good things happen to them."

Cliffside Park scored on its last six shootout attempts with two goals from Valles and Kelvin Quevedo and one from Edwin Calderon and Elkjer Basha. Quevedo was quick to thank his defense partner, Nicholas Arcila, for stopping a sure-fire breakaway by hauling down a Rutherford player.

"I thought I messed up for the team but luckily I had my teammate Nick Arcila right behind me saving my back," Quevedo said, on the red card. "He really took one for the team."

Bergen Catholic 1, (4) Ramsey 0 (double overtime)

Conor Morrin felt like it was meant to be.

The Bergen Catholic senior stepped to the line for his penalty kick against the same Ramsey team that eliminated his on the same field – in the same round – one year ago.

The fate of the Crusaders rested on the only player back from their 2019 county championship team.

"I felt like it was my time to put it to bed," Morrin said. "Once we heard there was a chance to play them again this year, we started preparing and starting watching film and starting practicing harder. It paid off."

Morrin answered the call by drilling his penalty into the left corner to lift Bergen Catholic past Ramsey a little over two minutes into double overtime.

A Crusader team that started .500 after seven games now finds itself two wins away from vaulting to the top of the county. Bergen Catholic has shuffled its lineup considerably since then and got a huge lift with the return of Morrin (knee) in the back after a four-week absense. None of the Crusaders starting defenders on Sunday were there in the opener against Don Bosco.

"I just trust everyone with my whole heart and they trust me," goalie Kyle Tencza said after his team's third shutout in four games. "So we come up big for each other. No matter who's in the game, we're going to play for Bergen and each other."

Bergen Catholic will play on thanks to Morrin, who had the only goal that counted and one of three shots in overtime that went into the net. Ramsey's Luke Ernst and Bergen Catholic's Sebastian Londono both had goals waived off for offside in the extra session.

Tencza made five saves to set the stage for his veteran centerback.

"I think (Morrin) brought a whole different burst of energy on the team," coach Peter Berkanish said. "Everybody was excited to get him back. He's held that back line together two or three games in a row."

(1) Ramapo 4, Garfield 1

Ramapo became the first team to punch its ticket to the Bergen County semifinal. But it took a little while to crack the code against unbeaten Garfield.

The Raiders exploded for four goals in the second half to turn a scoreless game into a runaway win in Franklin Lakes. Damian DiLisio and Ryan DeKorte picked up back-to-back goals in the 48th and 64th minute to hand Ramapo a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

"I feel like we played great," Ramapo senior defender Nick Marino said. "We played together and we communicated. We had a lot of energy and that's what helped us win in the end."

Marino kept the game under control in the back with defenders Jayden Onal and Jacob Marcos and stopper Cole Duschang. It still took a patient effort from defending-champion Ramapo (9-0-1) to get back to the semifinals for the 10th time in the last 12 tournaments.

Garfield sophomore goalie Jakub Piszczatowski didn't budge in the first half when he posted seven of his nine total saves. The Boilermakers made things interesting with just under nine minutes left when sophomore Leland Gonzalez curled a free kick inside the right post.

Eventually, Ramapo put the score out reach with late goals from Albert Carilli and Dylan Bodart.

"It's a nice feeling," coach Evan Baumgarten said. "It was a bit of a tough day, but they kept with it. That's neat to see."

"We didn't finish chances but we didn't stop going forward."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ boys soccer: Bergen County quarterfinals instant analysis