After a heartbreaking loss to Union in the final seconds of a game earlier in the season, one would think that this Raiders boys soccer team would be excited to face off again. This time it was in the semifinals of the Union County Tournament. The SPF Raiders boys soccer team fell to the Union Farmers on Sunday, Oct. 15 at Arthur L. Johnson High School.
Union’s attackers came out strong right out of the gate, putting pressure on the Raiders defense. Deep runs by the Farmer’s David Sanchez and Paulo Ferreira were stopped by the strength of this Raiders team, their defense.
“[We were trying to] keep them in front of us, and not to dive in,” junior defender Devin Pearce told The Fanscotian. “We knew how fast and good they were with the ball.”
Turnovers in the midfield gave SPF their first chance on the opposing side of the field. Sophomore Jayvon Young winded up right outside of the 18-yard box for a shot that was blocked by a Union defender. More chances appeared later in the game, but none were taken advantage of by Young and senior forward Aaron Casterlow.
Some miscommunication gave Union’s Kevin Mendes a chance for a goal that just missed the post. Union continued to put up shots, but senior goalie, Jeffrey Dietrich was there to make the stop. The Raiders came back with a promising attack that was started by winger Kareem Elkony, who had a nice through ball to forward Caden Matulonis who just came too close to the middle of the field.
SPF used this momentum to keep attacking with defender Sohem Rai playing Young in the middle of the box who was lightly tripped up and lost the ball. A nice stop by Pearce on the back line gave Casterlow a chance to put one in. An extra dribble cost him the chance for a celebration as the Farmer defenders caught up to him.
“We talked about it at halftime that no matter what happens, we just have to be strong, and we have to continue to play our game,” Head Coach Alex Passucci said.
Leading up to the half, both teams had their chances to score, but neither could capitalize. It was evident that a strong defense and midfield was keeping this Raider team in the game.
Coming out of the huddle, the Raiders fired on all cylinders. Elkony just missed a shot that went wide of the post and the SPF crowd gasped. Union continued on the counter attack, but Bradley Pearce was there to concede the corner. Even though the ball was cleared, the Farmers came back quickly. Josias Mendez was left unmarked on the far post to score on a side volley.
There was nothing that could have been done by Dietrich as the ball hit the back of the net in a hurry. On the SPF side, it was as if you could hear a pin drop. Even though the Raiders were down, it was still only a one goal deficit and there was 24 minutes left on the scoreboard.
The ball was kept on the SPF side, but shot after shot, Dietrich was there for the save. Kevin Mendes dribbled into the box but Dietrich slid in, taking the ball and the player with him. The referee pointed to the penalty marker, having the Raider side erupt in boos. An easy penalty shot goal put the Farmers up 2-0, but the Raiders were not done yet.
Devin Pearce launched himself into the air on a corner kick to connect with a nicely placed ball to bring them back into the game and to score his second goal of the year.
“I didn’t really feel anything [after the goal]. I just ran to get the ball, bring it back to the field and continue to play,” Pearce said.
It was too little too late though as Passucci and Casterlow continued to put shots up by the goalie that were all unsuccessful.
“Sometimes you need other guys to step up and today we just didn’t have enough,” Coach Passucci said.
While hopes of a Union County Championship are over, this team now has their eyes set on the state tournament.
“We have to continue to work. One of our goals is to win the sectionals and hopefully with a little bit of luck we can do that,” Coach Passucci said.
