Somers Comes Back for Senior Night 2-1 Win Over John Jay
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On Tuesday October 14, Somers hosted John Jay and winning the cross town rivalry game seemed like a great way to celebrate senior night. But the guests didn’t oblige and took a 1-0 lead into the second. So Somers countered with a spark.
“I don’t start. So when I get in, I give 120 percent, and as long as you try hard, things will come,” said James Brinn after scoring both goals in the Tuskers 2-1 win.
Of course, the game began with John Jay getting the most chances and the odds came due at 28:31. Somers was called for a foul and Finn Fothergill kicked in the penalty shot.
Not letting up, John Jay almost put the game out of reach three minutes later. Yesbin Cruz centered from the sideline to an open Porter Bysshe, but his deflection went wide.
Then Somers showed signs of life when Eduardo Ruiz’s long kick down field resulted in a corner kick with 19:45 to go. Trevor Keimig teeing up, his pass short returned to him and put the ball in the crease. There it precariously remained loose until John Jay got the clear.
Two minutes later, Somers really got in sync. Off the head of Ruiz and into the John Jay zone, Milan Sath made what appeared to be a perfect pass to Keimig. A step ahead unfortunately, the nifty play was whistled for offsides.
From there, Somers kept running into Jeremy Walerys in the John Jay end. With his big frame and heads up play, the Wolf broke up numerous Tusker incursions. “He’s a really solid center back,” Brinn agreed.
But the numbers suggested the negation would be fleeting,” according to Brinn. “We sub so much that we always have fresh legs,” he said. “So it’s hard to keep up with all these players.”
The second half helped Brinn prove the point. After Ben Baran picked up a one hopper at 38:45, the tide was ready to turn. With Walerys holding the ball at midfield, Brinn used his rested legs to his advantage and lifted the ball.
Now in breakaway mode, Brinn was still neck and neck with Walerys, which was essentially a win for the Tusker. “I outworked him,” said Brinn, and that left only Marc Fein in goal.
The Wolf goalie came out but was too late and Brinn put it by him at 34:23.
Walerys did get the better of Brinn moments later in the corner, and his long kick put the Wolves on attack again. The ball landing on the foot of Ryan Ramirez, he tried a lateral pass that didn’t make its connection. Sheldon Connor slid into the cross, which was standard stuff, according to fellow defenseman Daniel Semenza.. “Sheldon cleans up everything,” the junior boasted.
Moments later, Nick Goncalves did a pretty good number in the corner too. Dennis Galvan had possession and the Tusker defender refused to relent. He came over and made larceny with little room to spare.
Still, John Jay kept coming. The ball loose at midfield, Galvan burst in to secure and sent possession to Ramirez. He danced into space and made a near perfect pass to Fothergill but Baran got there first at 25:21.
The defense couldn’t rest either. Braeden Gibson made a sliding stop on the sideline and Baran made a diving stop on Alejandro Pineda’s tricky one hopper
23 minutes to go, the offense took their turn. Contreras secured the sideline and snuck the ball ahead almost perfectly to Milan Sath.
Offside again, the stage was set for Brinn. Contreras the impetus again, he intercepted a Walerys pass at midfield and he sent ahead. Brinn the target, the wing chased down the lead, did a two step on the defender and found Sath.
In sync, the two executed a perfect give and go, which put Brinn face to face with Fein. No chance, Brinn found the opposite corner and was quick to assign credit elsewhere. “Milan gave me a perfect ball,” said the senior.
Even so, Harper Ritson couldn’t help bringing it back to theTusker big man. He dribbled by multiple bodies and their main defender,” said the attacker. “It was such a performance, and it’s an honor to play with him.”
The defense did the rest, and the goalie obviously doing his part, he still expressed his thanks for the supporting cast. “I got a lot of great players in front of me,” Baran concluded.
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Rich Monetti
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