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Girls soccer: North Jersey rankings, stat leaders, and a historic week at Cliffside Park

sean farrell, northjersey.com
·4 min read

The record board inside Cliffside Park High School is a little outdated.

But the daughter of two Moroccan immigrants will be enshrined there soon enough.

Sarah Zekri Khanfri became the Red Raiders' all-time scoring leader on Saturday when she picked up her 41st career goal. She buried another shot later in the match to push Cliffside Park by River Dell and into the second round of the Bergen County Invitational.

Surpassing 2019 graduate Izabella Hasandjekic has been a longtime dream for the junior forward.

"I thought about it the second my season started as a freshman," Zekri Khanfri said. "I saw the records in the Hall of Fame in the gym lobby in school. I was like, I want to be the person to break it."

The Red Raiders' star clinched the milestone at home in the fourth minute Saturday. The ball came to her near the top of the box and she placed a shot into the top right corner.

Having a knack in the final third seems to run in the family for Sarah. Her dad, Mohamed, once played for the Moroccan National Team at forward. Both parents came from the port city of Tangier, on the nation's northernmost tip.

"Out of his four daughters, I'm the only one carrying on his [soccer] legacy," Zekri Khanfri said. "So I really want to keep that up."

It will be a while before that legacy is shown on the walls of Cliffside Park. After all, Zekri Khanfri still has a year and change before her numbers are final.

In the meantime, her goal is to push the Red Raiders to a division title in the Big North American. The Red Raiders (4-4-1) have now won three straight with the help of senior Samantha Ocampo (3 goals, 3 assists) and freshman goalie Carol Sutuj (42 saves).

"We're finally putting the pieces together after a rough start," Zekri Khanfri said. "We're getting our chemistry back. Everything is running smoothly now that we're settled into the season."

Top 25 rankings

  1. Ridgewood 5-0-2

  2. Ramsey 8-0

  3. Ramapo 7-1-1

  4. Immaculate Heart 5-2-1

  5. DePaul 5-1

  6. Northern Highlands 6-3

  7. Wayne Valley 5-3

  8. Waldwick 7-0

  9. Wayne Hills 6-1-1

  10. Glen Rock 6-0-1

  11. Pascack Valley 8-1

  12. Bergen Tech 8-0-1

  13. Pascack Hills 5-2-1

  14. Old Tappan 5-3-1

  15. Clifton 5-2

  16. Fair Lawn 6-4

  17. Hasbrouck Heights 8-1

  18. Passaic Tech 4-4-1

  19. Mahwah 6-3-2

  20. Hawthorne 5-1

  21. Rutherford 7-1-1

  22. Saddle River Day 4-2

  23. Leonia 6-1

  24. Park Ridge 4-4

  25. Secaucus 7-2

(Records through Tuesday.)

Around the pitch

►Ridgewood has taken over as the top team in the North Jersey rankings with former No. 1 DePaul losing to Immaculate Heart. The Maroons are unbeaten in their last 26 regular-season games dating back to October 2021.

► Fort Lee's Alexa Castro scored nine goals and Hailie Seo added a hat trick of her own to power the Bridgemen to a 13-4 victory over Dumont in the Big North American on Monday night. Castro leads North Jersey with 30 goals this year as a junior and has 65 for her career.

North Jersey stat leaders

GOALS

Alexa Castro, Fort Lee 30

Ava Incorvaia, Waldwick 17

Abby Incorvaia, Waldwick 15

Lia Cruz, North Arlington 15

Kirsten Braunius, Eastern Christian 14

Sophia Lara, Hasbrouck Heights 14

Salome Chica, Dwight-Morrow 13

Isabella Ramirez, Elmwood Park 13

Alexandra Barry, IHA 12

Demi Owens, Teaneck 12

Sarah Gomez, Dwight-Morrow 11

Nina Davis, Ramsey 11

Ryan Doyle, Glen Rock 10

Chastelyn Ruiz, Passaic 10

Brianna Ramos, Bergenfield 10

Ava Chun, Tenafly 10

Fiona Helly, Wood-Ridge/Wallington 10

Poppie Bimson, Rutherford 10

ASSISTS

Poppie Bimson, Rutherford 13

Sarah Gomez, Dwight-Morrow 12

Hailie Seo, Fort Lee 11

Leila Sosa, Bergenfield 11

Brenda Cuacuil, Passaic 10

Gianna Angelucci, Eastern Christian 10

Sophia Dallara, Ramsey 9

Salome Chica, Dwight-Morrow 8

Brooke Kessler, Elmwood Park 8

Mia Acosta, Bergenfield 8

Lia Cruz, North Arlington 8

Allie Polyniak, Pascack Valley 7

Amanda Polyniak, Pascack Valley 7

Maddy Hayes, IHA 7

Madison Lahullier, Hasbrouck Heights 7

Martyna Kozdron, Wood-Ridge/Wallington 7

SAVES

Dylan Raess, Teaneck 187

Kasey Ziegler, River Dell 113

Maya Joshi, Cresskill 83

Abigail Loszynski, Bergenfield 80

Ava Capurso, Ridgefield Park 75

Himani Patel, Paramus 75

Gillian Pasqualino, Emerson 70

Rebecca Santos, Dwight-Morrow 66

Alexa Kulhawy, Indian Hills 60

Madison Kirk, Becton 60

Daliana Rojas, North Arlington 60

Ava Rizos, Wood-Ridge/Wallington 57

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ girls soccer: Top 25 rankings, historic week at Cliffside Park