Cleff Alexis went from midfielder to penalty spot with the biggest kick of his high school career waiting for him.

His strides were confident and when he got 12 yards from goal Alexis placed the ball down and braced.

The Elizabeth junior forward watched second-year Hunterdon Central goalie Calan Armitage with the two teams tied for three on penalties.

If Alexis did the kick, Elizabeth would win. If he missed or Armitage made the stop, both teams would go to sudden death.

The pressure was on as Alexis began his run towards the ball. He hit him with his right foot. Armitage guessed correctly, moving to his left, but the ball sailed just past him and into the lower right corner of the net.

Alexis’ penalty was decisive as No.11 Elizabeth defeated No.2 Hunterdon Central 4-3 on penalties to win the North Jersey Section Championship, Section 2, Group 4 of the NJSIAA / Wawa Boys tournament Soccer State Thursday at Williams Field.

This is Elizabeth’s second section title in three years, including one for the last time in 2019.

The two teams played tied 1-1 after 100 minutes in a physical game with plenty of scoring opportunities for both teams. Elizabeth will face the winner of the West Orange-Kearny competition in the Group 4 semi-final.

Alexis, who took the winning penalty in the section’s semi-final victory over Scotch Plains-Fanwood on Monday, took off his jersey in celebration and rushed to Elizabeth’s fans. Nothing went through his mind as he walked to take the penalty.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything,” Alexis said. “I wanted to seize the moment and win. The emotions were strong because it is the first time that I won a title of section of state. This is something that is not easy.

Elizabeth goalie (17-3-2) Matthew Pires made two saves on penalties, stopping Hunterdon Central’s fourth and fifth penalty shooters (17-1-2).

Her saves were impressive, given that the Red Devils took their first three penalties and Elizabeth missed her first.

“(Against Scotch Plains) I didn’t stop,” Pires said of the penalty shootout win over the Raiders. “This game, I went to save them. You just have to choose a side, get involved and hope for the best.

Pires also made two big overtime saves, robbing Hunterdon Central of a golden goal. Both of those saves came at the end of a home and away game in the 80 minutes of regular time and 20 minutes of overtime.

Hunterdon Central opened the scoring in the 12th minute when forward Evan Vasquez reacted fastest to a loose ball after the Red Devils hit the crossbar.

Elizabeth thought he had equalized in the dying minute of the first half when Armitage misjudged the trajectory of the ball from a free kick, and the ball went into the net. But the referee determined that Armitage had suffered a foul, canceling the goal, much to the chagrin of the Minutemen bench.

Elizabeth equalized in the 52nd minute when Justin Cedeno headed a cross by forward Mathew Giraldo.

Giraldo was playing his second game after injuring his right hamstring in the semi-finals of the Union County tournament on October 23. He looked like himself on Thursday, explosive with the ball and using his dribbling skills to shake up defenders.

He did not take a penalty in the shootout, claiming he was no good on the pitch, but he still looked forward to the celebration.

“My only thought was to win. I wasn’t thinking about my hamstrings, ”Giraldo said. “I did enough to help the team today. At first I thought we were going to lose because we missed the first penalty. I’m like ‘Oh, I don’t know’, but then (Pires) came along, and Alexis put it away, like he usually does, and we won.

Thursday was also Hunterdon Central coach Anson Smith’s last game as coach of the Red Devils. He announced after Hunterdon Central’s victory over Westfield that he would retire at the end of the season to take an administrative position at Hopewell Valley High School.

It was a disappointing end to the season for Smith and his team, but the Red Devils still enjoyed a successful season, winning the H / W / S title with a roster full of new players.

On the other side, the family of Elizabeth coach Jacques Gonzales hugged him during the celebrations.

Last season he was in Smith’s shoes, sharing the disappointment of losing a heartbreaking section final to Monroe in double overtime. Over the past 12 months, Elizabeth has grown closer as a group.

Gonzales said it takes a bit of luck to get to this point in the season. They got it on Thursday and are now two wins away from winning a Group 4 championship.

“With this group of kids, they give you the assurance that things are going to go the way we want them to,” Gonzales said. “Someone said it before that to win championships, luck is part of it. I adore these children. With everything last year, what it created unifies us even more than we were in terms of city and community. “

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You can reach Luis Torres at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter @ParLuisTorres.