Somers Plays to Exciting 2-2 Tie Versus North Salem

See Photos at end

On Tuesday September 17, Somers hosted North Salem and coming across town as the defending state champs obviously added some juice to the rivalry. Physical on both sides, said Coach Rob Carreira, “I think a little bit of emotion from the game got to us at points.” But the end result proved the boys kept an overall even keel.

“I’m really impressed with the guys, we came back and tied it twice,” he said after the teams deadlocked at two.

The game began fast when Harper Ritson got down the sideline and sent a cross through the North Salem crease at 38:20. No happy feet or heads to intersect, Somers was back two minutes later. The ball kicked around up close until Juan Jameson made a last second clear.

A corner kick resulting, the highest head was Isaac Rouse, and North Salem got down the sideline the other way. Angel Romero Meijo working the corner, his shot at Nicholas Chao was an easy one at 35:20.

The Tigers did a similar number moments later, and Chao let it air out. A foot race past midfield, Sean Randall got their first with a roundhouse kick that crossed the finish line first.

31:15 left in the half, play mostly stayed in the Somers end, and North Salem made the most of the pressure when Liam Keegan and Rouse dazzled the Somers defense with his footwork. The ball finally landed on Keegan’s cleat on the far sideline, and he kicked over Chao’s outstretched hand for a 1-0 lead.

In at 25 minutes, a 2-0 lead looked like it launched off the foot of Rouse. But the pass to Keegan was offside with a one v one versus Chao all lined up.

The jumped gun left Somers ready to respond. Ritson got ahead on a long pass, and with an open net, the North Salem defense was able to bail out their goalie at 22:00.

Two minutes later, the North Salem crowd was gasping again. First, Trevor Keimig did his dirty work on the sideline. “I usually just kick it down the line and use my speed as an advantage,” said the wing.

Space in the corner, the junior let fly. Milan Sath received in the crease, but the shot went wide.

Keimig would have the last laugh, though. He forced a corner kick and not hitting the primary target was no joke for North Salem.”I was trying to hit one of my taller boys, and it ended up in the net,” Keimig said. “So that’s all that matters.”

Feeling the relevancy, Somers kept coming. Randy Contreras hit Shane Carroll for a shot on goal, and Ritson’s launch from the sideline had Kyle Li make a two handed leaping save. Ritson also went cross crease again, but Keimig chipped the perfect pass over the goal to close the half.

Onto the second, Somers continued the momentum - especially Ritson.. He did a little behind the foot dribble that wowed the crowd at 35:10, forced a penalty on the sideline, and more dazzle almost had the striker on a tee. Not quite, Rouse came in with a big slide tackle to break up the play.

Still, Somers got to the charity stripe, and after the shot went wide, the junior was there with two more opportunities off the head.

Then the emotions ran over. From the near sideline, Patrick Dooley led Keegan to the middle of the field, and with a single defender trailing, only Chao was in the way. Feet got tangled, Chao easily covered up the roll, and the teams converged.

A little pushing, some elevated voices and the resulting yellow cards still had the coach praising the refs. “They made sure everyone was safe, and in the heat of the moment, I think they wanted us to keep playing,” said Carreira.

The penalty kick was blocked, but Somers wasn’t as fortunate on a subsequent penalty. Randall lofted from just inside the corner and successfully connected with Max Cotrone’s head at 13:16.

Three minutes later, the game appeared sealed as a bouncing ball headed for an empty Somers net. On a long clear downfield, Aidan Santis ran under the pop fly, and with Chao coming out to meet, the goalie’s deflection still had the rock on target. But the Somers defense intervened before the goal line, and the clear left the Tuskers in play.

So Somers took advantage. Ritson’s ball work in the zone resulted in a penalty kick and then a corner kick. Keimig doing the honors, the ball kicked back to Nick Goncalves, and he sent the ball back into the fray. “It was just chaos,” said Randy Contreras.

There, the midfielder finally restored order. “The ball got to my side, and I tipped it in,” said Contreras.

A win also seemed imminent only moments later. On the far sideline, Ritson perfectly led Sath for a breakaway that landed in the North Salem net. “He was offsides. The call was spot on,” the coach conceded.

Of course, he wasn’t taking anything away from his team and relished the bigger picture. “We just got to keep sharp and be happy that we are undefeated in the last six games,” Carreira concluded.

Senior Night Photos

Click image for photos