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Ridgewood, a small, private college preparatory school, is located at
202 Pasadena Ave. in Metairie LA (Zip Code 70001). It has approximately 500
students in grades Pre-K to 12 and only about 200 in high school. Therefore, it
has always competed in the smallest soccer division.
Ridgewood did not start its high school soccer program until 1993-1994 season.
Under Coach Jay Beatman, the Eagles went 5-4-1. However, being a first year
program, they did not apply to join a district, thus had no district record.
1994-1995 saw a huge rise in players coming out for the team. That year's team
had 21 members. Coach Mike LaNasa started the season off with a win over
Redeemer-Seton, but went winless the rest of the year to finish at 1-14. A 14-0
loss to Vandebilt Catholic that year remains the worst loss in school history.
The team finished 0-10 in district play in a district that included Vandebilt,
Country Day, St. Martin's, St. Charles, and Ecole, though several games against
St. Martin's and Ecole were very close. The team was young and consisted of
three females. Ridgewood would start a girl's team the next year, however. The
team started one 8th grader (Eric Vinterella), who led the team with 9 goals,
one freshman (Scott Crawford), 4 sophomores (Azeez Otori, Eric Shultz, Peter
Kerr, and Alexander Lugo), 3 juniors (Alexis Lugo, Bruce Mills, and Mitchel
Blitz), and 2 seniors (Lane Witten and Jay Kahn). The underclassmen layed the
foundation for future seasons.
The 1995-1996 season ushered in the leadership of Coach Eric Anderson. Coach
Anderson knew nothing about soccer before the season, but soon learned much.
Unfortunately for the team, the leading goal scorer from the year before, 8th
grader Eric Vinterella (9), chose not to play that year. The season started well
with a 5-0 win over Redeemer. However, the team then lost to Grace King 8-1
followed by a 7-1 loss to St. Charles in freezing conditions. Many of the team's
players shaved their heads before district play. They competed in District 6-III
against Country Day, Ecole, Lutheran, and Ganus. They lost their first two
district games to Country Day 5-0 and 4-0 to Ecole. Their next opponent was
District 6-III member Ganus. Ridgewood dominated winning 9-0, the biggest win in
its history at that point. Ridgewood would again lose to Country Day, this time
7-1. Following that game, Ridgewood disappointingly lost to Lutheran 4-2. Ecole
defeated RPS again 3-1, but Ridgewood would finish strong by defeating Lutheran
4-0 and Ganus 5-0. Ridgewood finished at 4-7 with a 3-5 district record, which
was good enough for third in district. Since Division III was using a 16 team
playoff system, only the top two teams went to the playoffs.
Team members that year included: Andrew Templeton, Hassan Katar, Ihab Mohsen,
Azeez Otori, Alexis Lugo, Ryan Kerr, Cliff Worley, Kevin Davis, Obeahan Isoa,
Patrick Slagel, Peter Kerr, Idiahi Ehimare, Jacob Seither, Manoj Mathai, Eric
Shultz, Brandon Grambouche, Mike Levy, Scott Crawford, Yohei Sugiyama, and Joel
Emerman. Leading goal scorers were Azeez Otori with 9 goals, Andrew Templeton
with 3, Mike Levy with 4, and Eric Shultz with 3. Scott Crawford was awarded
defensive MVP and Azeez Otori was named team MVP.
The 1996-1997 team knew that they were the best team in school history. With 5
players that would eventually play in college, they were the team to beat in
district 6-III. They started the season with a disappointing 0-0 tie against
Andrew Jackson. The team would respond with the largest win in school history,
an 11-0 win over Northlake Christian, a 6-0 win over Pearl River, and a 6-0 win
over Andrew Jackson that avenged the 0-0 tie earlier in the year. The team then
headed into its hardest game of the year so far against St. Charles. The teams
went back and forth, but St. Charles proved to be the better team that day with
a 5-3 win. District 6-III (Ridgewood, Country Day, Ecole, and Lutheran) play
started during the Christmas break. Ridgewood opened up with a huge upset
against a ranked team. For the first time in school history, Ridgewood defeated
Country Day 2-1. However, the team played poorly and dropped its next important
district game 1-0 to Ecole. The team then defeated Northlake Christian 5-1 and
Lutheran 8-0 before the big rematch between Country Day that ultimately would
decided the district champion. Ridgewood came out flat and stayed flat the
entire game, losing 6-0. The team returned with another 8-0 win over Lutheran
and a 3-2 overtime victory against Ecole that sent Ridgewood to its very first
playoff game. The Eagles faced #5 ranked St. Thomas Aquinas. They played in
Strawberry Stadium on the Southeastern Louisiana University campus. Ridgewood
pulled of its biggest victory ever with a 2-1 win over the Falcons. Ridgewood
without two key players was headed to the State Quarterfinals against highly
touted Newman. Newman on its home field would prove to be too much for the
Eagles in a 4-1 loss that ended Ridgewood's season. Ridgewood's final record was
10-4-1 (4-2).
Five players that year earned All-District honors, a first for any Ridgewood
player. Andrew Templeton, Josh Crosby (15 goals), Eric Vinterella, Azeez Otori,
and Scott Crawford would earn that honor. In addition, Vinterella with 20 goals
was named Offensive MVP, Otori (10 goals) was named team overall MVP, and
Crawford was named team Defensive MVP. Andrew Templeton, the team's captain,
many believed, deserved state attention for his efforts in goal. That team
graduated two 4-time letter winners (Azeez Otori and Eric Shultz).
The 1997-1998 team was assumed to be headed for greatness. The season started
with preseason games against defending champion, St. Louis(also that year's
champ), and St. Thomas Aquinas. The Eagles played St. Louis tough, and lost only
1-0. However, in that game, the Eagles faced a serious setback when team captain
Scott Crawford was kicked and later found at that his leg was broken. The Eagles
also lost to St. Thomas Aquinas that day, 6-1. The team won most of its out of
district games. The team also participated in its first tournament at Pearl
River. Ridgewood would fight hard with a win over Pearl River and 1 goal defeats
to St. Martin's and Covington, but would not advance out of bracket play.
Non-district wins included Northlake Christian twice, Andrew Jackson twice,
Pearl River twice, Lutheran, and Abramson twice. Ridgewood's district once again
was a hard one with Country Day, E.D. White, St. Charles, and Ecole. Country Day
defeated Ridgewood twice, 6-0 and 4-1, E.D. White also defeated Ridgewood twice,
5-1 and 2-1, and St. Charles won twice, 2-1 and 5-1. Despite these close
results, Ridgewood was 0-6 in district in these games. Against Ecole, Ridgewood
won the first game 2-0, but lost the second game 3-2. With a 1-7 district record
in a tough district, Ridgewood would not move on to the playoffs. The team
finished 9-10-1 (1-7).
That team graduated many starters (Scott Crawford, Kevin Campbell, Parker
Lombard, Kevin Davis, Yohei Sugiyama, John Hunter, and Hugh Parry) so it seemed
the 1998-1999 season would be even worse than 1997-1998.
Despite losing so many players, the 1998-1999 team made it to the playoffs and
did well. This team finished 9-11-1 with a 2-6 district record (wins against
Ecole, losses to E.D. White, Country Day, and St. Charles), and went into the
playoffs as a wildcard against heavily favored and ranked Pope John Paul.
Missing its starting goalie for the first half, Ridgewood went down 1-0. The
game remained very close, but Ridgewood could not penetrate PJP's solid defense
and lost 4-0.
Ridgewood's leading all-time scorer, Eric Vinterella, ended a great career at
Ridgewood that saw him start as a 8th grader. He scored 63 goals. Another
graduate who had a significant impact on the team who graduated that year was
midfielder Brandon McCann. He finished with 17 career goals during his two years
with the team. Jonathan Ruffin, who would become an All-American and Lou Groza
Award winning place kicker at the University of Cincannati, also graduated after
playing defense for the Eagles. Ridgewood also welcomed to its team Matt Parker,
who despite just being a sophomore, played outstanding. Vinterella made first
team all-district and Matt Parker, Andrew Crawford, and Ryan Kerr were named to
the all-district second team.
Ridgewood's 1999-2000 team welcomed a new coach as Eric Anderson left for Belle
Chase after serving as head coach for 4 years, accumulating a 32-32-2 record.
Another new-comer to soccer, Coach Goggins took the helm. He inherited many
talented players. That year, the team would get a win over St. Charles a first
for Ridgewood. However, the team once again finished behind E.D. White, St.
Charles, and Country Day in district (3-5). The bright spot of district play was
a 2-1 victory over Country Day at Country Day. The huge win proved to be even
larger when Country Day finished as a State Semifinalist, ranked #4. The team
took its 9-8 record into the playoffs as a wildcard. They faced Westminster.
Ridgewood was a worthy foe, only losing 2-0 in a very tight game.
That season ended at 9-9. Matt Parker and Andrew Crawford, both captains, made
all-district. Parker was named as the team's MVP and Crawford was named as the
team's defensive MVP just as his brother had been three years before.
Coach Joe Marsiglia, who prepped at Country Day, took over for the 2000-2001
season. The regular season ended with a 7-5 record with Ridgewood's first win
over E.D. White. In the tough district with EDW, Country Day, St. Charles, and
Ecole, Ridgewood fared well. Ridgewood defeated each team in district except
Country Day (against whom they lost twice by one goal, once in overtime). With a
3-5 district record, Ridgewood headed into the playoffs for the third
consecutive year as a wildcard. This year, however, they would open with the #1
team in state, Newman. Newman and its solid team that included 2-time
All-American and U.S. National Team Player, Dwayne Jones, easily defeated
Ridgewood 9-0, and would cruise to the state championship. Ridgewood ended with
a 7-6 record.
Captain Matt Parker made all-district again, becoming the only two-time
first-team all district player from Ridgewood. He also ended his career at
Ridgewood with 52 goals.
RIDGEWOOD STATISTICS
Overall Record:
53-51-3
District Record:
14-34-1
Non-District Record:
39-17-2
Playoff Appearances:
1996-1997 (Quarterfinals)
1998-1999 (Bi-District)
1999-2000 (Bi-District)
2000-2001 (Bi-District)
All-Ridgewood Team:
Andrew Templeton (Goalie), Scott Crawford (Sweeper), Andrew Crawford (Fullback),
Jay Kahn (Fullback), Kevin Campbell (Fullback), Mike Levy (Midfield), Azeez
Otori (Midfield), Matt Parker (Midfield), John LeBoutillier (Midfield), Eric
Vinterella (Forward), and Haakon Ronneberg (Forward).
Top Reserves:
Doug Depp, Kevin Davis, Brandon McCann, Eric Henson, Ryan Kerr, Alexis Lugo.
Ridgewood
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