When senior striker Ethan Koseoglu buried the equalizer for the Raiders on Tuesday afternoon against Summit off of a pretty ball by sophomore forward Lorenzo Modica with 18 minutes remaining, it looked like it was SPF’s game to lose. And it was. 

The Summit Hilltoppers defeated the Raiders 2-1 on a late header by junior midfielder Gabe Malik to win their fourth straight game bringing their record to 4-1. The loss dropped the Raiders to 3-2-1 with a brutal three-game stretch ahead against Elizabeth, Union City and Westfield. 

The Raiders’ next three opponents have a combined 12-4 record, respectively. 

This was a winnable game for the Raiders — a game they will want back when they look back at the end of the season. They outshot Summit 12 to 10 and had many goal scoring opportunities throughout the game but failed to convert. 

“We got tired out, and we turned off at a few points but I think we had a solid performance,” Koseoglu said. “I think we were the better team, but it was just an unlucky result.”

In the eleventh minute, junior forward Henrique Barbosa hit the crossbar off a through ball from Koseoglu. Despite senior forward Noah Sadler giving the Hilltoppers lots of problems with his game-changing speed, Sadler was unable to convert on his shots in the first half. 

“I just gotta put the ball in the back of the net,” Sadler said. “I’m frustrated because it was 2-1 and I had four shots that I should have put away.”

“I think that we created enough chances, but unfortunately we couldn’t get one more and they capitalized on their chances,” head coach Alex Passucci said. “I thought there were times where it was the final pass and I thought we just didn’t see the final pass or that one extra pass and we just couldn’t get a good look on goal.”

Game Ball: Lorenzo Modica 

With the Raiders trailing in the second half, Modica answered the call and put in a superb shift that resulted in an assist and energy off the bench. Returning from injury, Modica becomes a great option for Passucci when the team is lacking creativity and juice in the final third. 

“Enzo is a creative player, he’s very technical,” Passucci said. “He’s been injured so he’s trying to get his fitness back, but he’s someone that can create things in the attacking third and that’s what we needed in the end and we did get one.” 

SPF’s next opponent is all-state midfielder Matthew Giraldo and the Elizabeth Minutemen at home on Thursday Sept. 24 at 4pm. Elizabeth won its sixth straight game on Tuesday, defeating Westfield 2-0. The Raiders upset Elizabeth 1-0 on opening day earlier this month. 

After the game, Giraldo told nj.com, “We’re going to see them [Scotch Plains] Thursday and it’s not going to be the same outcome. We’re going to come out on top for sure.”

Koseoglu spoke to the team postgame about what their mindset should be going into Thursday’s contest with Elizabeth. 

“When you wake up in the morning, it’s a new day,” Koseoglu said. “You got to be positive and you got to really really want it because Thursday’s a big game and a win would be a result that we really need right now and we can’t be looking at our past.”