In Second Round, John Jay Loses Back and Forth at Panas

Scroll to end for Photos

After upsetting Roosevelt in the first round of the Sectionals, Jon Jay took to the road again and hoped to break Panas over the bracket. A furious back and forth pace ensued but it was a six minute stretch in the second half that told the final tale.

John Jay tied the score at one at 37:51, took the lead two minutes later and then in the space of three minutes, Panas regained the lead for good in a 4-2 thriller.

Up and down the field, the first good chance came around 32 minutes. On a throw-in from Ryan Ramirez, Sagi Ohana took the bouncer of his chest and swung his leg for a shot that went wide at 32 minutes.

Back the other way, Panas was next. Cristiano Ferriera got the ball ahead to Elvis Merchan and the race was on. At 30:50 Marc Fein came sliding out, and on the deflection, he was able to cover and kick away.

Then John Jay came as close at it gets. Dennis Galvan refused to give in on the sideline, and once making space, he launched a cross through the crease. In wait and with the left side of the net open with 26 minutes to go, the ball sailed just inches above Finn Fothergill’s head.

So Panas took their turn. The Rebels kept the ball in the John Jay end and had the ball kicking around in the crease several times. But the John Jay defense kept its collective head and was able to deny each time.

Of course, the ping pong game continued. In the corner, Ramirez beat a double team, got a shot on goal, and when the ball kicked back to Galvan at 12:23, the wing went just high over the crossbar.

Ramirez also got things started two minutes later. The wing took a pass at the 40, and with a nifty foot trick he caught Porter Bysshe on the run. Panas was forced to kick out of bounds and Ramirez’ throw in teed up Bysshe again. Bouncing into the crease, a Panas header directed back to the foot of the John Jay center, and he kicked just wide at 9:17.

A chance finally came due, though and it belonged to the Rebels. On an errant throw in, Liam Muller headed the ball into the center of the field, where Juan Carlos Ortiz ran it down. He side swiped the ball at 3:11 and had plenty of room to spare for a 1-0 lead.

Onto the second, John Jay came out on fire, and Ramirez again struck the match. On the sideline, the wing threaded to Alex Bond outside the crease, and he hooked one just over the crossbar.

Not done, Bysshe took up matters on the other side. He stole the ball from Panas defense and then carved up the crease until the goalie came out. Frank Medico still left an opening, and Bysshe tied the score at 37:51.

Up in arms, John Jay continued to burn and Ramirez proved the impetus again. On a ball going out of bounds, Vincent Pascente got the stop but was unable to retain when he ran past the boundary.

So on alert, Ramirez scooped up the ball and crossed a perfect pass through two defenders, where Bysshe waited. He controlled, shot on goal and the rebound went to Fothergill. An easy knock, John Jay had the lead at 34:59

Panas didn’t fret, though. The Rebels quickly forced a throw in on the goal line, and in receipt, Robert Perez worked magic too. He sent a blind pass backwards, where Liam Muller was ready for the empty net tap in. Ruled an own goal off a John Jay head, the ball had the scoring trajectory nonetheless.

Only 31 seconds elapsing, Panas didn’t actually take their time when scoring two minutes later. A double take, the ball entered the crease on a throw in, but the play was up top. Ortiz applied his head and the arc went up and over the outstretched hand of Fein.

32:10 remaining, Panas didn’t opt for the prevent defense. They had a number of near misses the rest of the way, but more importantly kept possession away from Jay. They hammered the final nail on a penalty shot with 25 seconds remaining, and the Wolves were forced to accept a crushing defeat.

Click image for Photos