Somers Heads to State Semi with 21-14 Win Over Wantagh

Please see tip, pledge or subscribe buttons or my venmo is : @Rich-Monetti

Wantagh Slideshow

On Saturday June 7, Somers faced Wantagh in the regional finals. At Yorktown, Miguel Iglesias put Somers up 1-0 after only 32 seconds. But the actual tone for the game was started right out of the gate by Matt Mayfield. “We had so many more possessions,” Bret Kennedy expressed a kind understatement.

Mayfield took just about every face-off and led Somers to a 21-14 victory.

His first foray setup Iglesias. A shot off the post, he was back in play moments later, and his brother Tristan did the honors with the assist.

2-0 on the way, big brother did it on his own at 10:21. An overthrown Wantagh pass skirted toward midfield, and Iglesias was both patient and expedient. He waited on the edge with the defender and snuck his catcher under to corral the ball. Off to the races, the attacker wound up sideways and hit the net for a 2-0 lead.

Another draw for Mayfield, Somers got turned back this time. Gianni Passaro stopped Tristan Iglesias cleanly with his catcher, and the Wantagh offense got the chance to show out.

Unfortunately for Wantagh, audio outdid the optics. Joe Nicholson hit the crossbar twice in a 90 second span, and the score stood.

Back and forth with saves and near misses for both sides, Wantagh let Somers know they weren’t pushovers. Matt Giacobello found Nicholson on the right, and he sidearmed a projectile past Hudson Ruby.

At 4:21, Mayfield lost his shutout, but Ruby registered the save. Devin Paccione connected with Giacobello on Ruby’s doorstep, and a goal seemed an easy turn. Not quite, Ruby stood in and maintained the one goal lead at 3:30.

Ruby had another big save on Carter Loughman 50 seconds later, but a Somers turnover at 1:45 gave the Warriors the chance to tie. So Dylan Martini took it.

He wrapped around the goal, and the 99 seconds remaining didn’t seem to be enough time to unknot the scoreboard. Of course, when there’s a Mayfield on the field, time never feels short.

First Cam Violante made the most with Dylan Jimenez. The sophomore hit Jimenez on the goal line, and he cut in to regain the lead at 1:06.

One more time, Mayfield went back to scoop his own draw, and the win had the Iglesias brothers doubling down. In the end zone, Miguel passed forward to Tristan on the right, and just before taking a big hit, the sophomore unloaded to end the quarter scoring with only 1.2 seconds on the clock.

Onto the second, Mayfield didn’t contain himself to being quick on the draw. “If they slide to me, I try to move the ball, and if they don’t slide, I try to place it where the goalie isn’t,” said the All-American.

This round the defense came to him, and Tristan Iglesias ran the option. He received Mayfield’s dump off and bounced the ball past Passaro.

5-2, Mayfield pulled back on the next two wins. Same result, Miguel Iglesias setup Violante for a four goal lead, and then worked a little change of direction. Falling back to the goal line, the other Somers All-American drew the defense with him and caught Jimenez cutting forward from the point. Down shifting, the middie fired away, and the lead was five.

In at 10:58, the teams traded turnovers, and Somers was certainly glad to see two minutes elapse. They were even happier when a tripping call sent Wantagh into free fall.

Iglesias assisted his brother at 7:55, and Mason Kelly for a 9-2 lead, and of course, Mayfield kept up his end. His draw forward and headlong rush did clank the crossbar, but Jimenez used his silencer. He wrapped all the way around to front and center and scored the third of his five goals.

6:55 left in the half, the state semifinals seemed only a matter of time. Not so fast, Wantagh refused to wind there watches. They scored three goals to close the second, and it was still a game at 11-5.

Even more so when Passaro denied Kelly’s spin move on the right and then got the ball ahead to Loughman. Sean Stachlik took it from there and went head first on the right for an 11-6 game at 10:59.

Mayfield had enough with the momentum, though. The senior won the draw, and as usual, he successfully took the fork in the road. ”He’s so quick with his decisions,” said Coach Jordan Hirsch.

Good for the score at 10:49, Hirsch reveled in Mayfield’s ability to navigate the all-or-nothing aspect of firing away after a win. “You got to be headstrong and you got to be smart,” the coach clarified. “He’s both.”

Still, Wantagh kept coming. Paccione passed inside to Stachlik, and Ruby was the last line. No break, the goalie made the stop, and taking the cue, the Somers defense didn’t stop there. “We were clearing the ball, and I saw I had one guy to beat,” said Bret Kennedy. “I ran past him, and no one picked me up. I had a shot and finished it.”

13-6 with eight minutes to go in the third, Somers was in command again. Unfortunately for the Tuskers, the Warriors continued their insubordination. They scored the next three goals, and the four goal margin at 5:23 wasn’t so comfy.

Jimenez didn’t agree. “We just kept playing our game,” he said.

Mayfield losing the next draw aside, his goalie picked up the slack. Ruby snared Loughman’s sidearm, and Tristen Iglesias was about to make it hurt. He swung left for a 14-9 lead at 4:08 and returned only seven seconds later. After the draw win, Mayfield dumped left, and Iglesias put on the finishing touch.

Back to the middle, Wantagh got no quarter again. The best they could do was a loud noise. Mayfield hit the post. No problem, Somers retained, and Kelly smoked one from the right.

2:48 left in the third, the ticking clock was a little too slow for Somers' liking. Nicholson scored at :06, and onto the fourth, Wantagh inched closer when Matt Giacobello scored at 10:25.

Of course, a face off win would have been nice. Sorry, Mayfield was still there.

On the other hand, his win this time did have the senior trot to the sideline. “When you take that many draws,” said Hirsch, “he needed a little break.”

On the clock, his teammates didn’t miss a beat. Jimenez posted up on the right and spun until making enough space to take a 17-11 lead.

Ten minutes to the semis, Mayfield ran the same drill, and this time Kelly allowed his teammate to take a deep breath. The running back down shifted and fired for an 18-11 lead at 9:50.

Two minutes later, JJ Penzo made it 19-11 and exchanging goals the rest of the way was not enough to derail the Somers run. Onto Middletown, the path remains the same. “It doesn’t matter who the team is, if we practice hard, we’ll get where we want,” concluded Mayfield.