Soccer

Pitched battle

Family School edges Fallsburg in OT battle of Sullivan County contenders

By RICHARD A. ROSS

FALLSBURG, NY - It isn’t too early in the season to tell which teams are showing what it takes to put themselves in contention.

On September 12, Fallsburg and The Family School brought their undefeated records to the Comets’ pitch to take the measure of each other. Fallsburg turned heads with its season-opening 4-3 overtime win against S.S. Seward, a team many believe will return yet again to the state final four.

In that fray, Darren Kenny’s squad, which is loaded with veteran talent, came back from a 2-0 deficit to get goals from Randy Gilmore, Darius Buckner and Bill Miller to give the Comets the lead. But before Fallsburg could nail down the win, a penalty kick by Seward’s Jeremy Harter tied it up at 3-3, and the game went into overtime.

With two minutes gone by in the OT, Buckner scored again and the Comet defense was able to stymie powerful Seward for the remaining 18 minutes of the overtime periods.

The Comets also dominated Tri-Valley 4-0, and now they set their sights on The Family School.

The Falcons already had garnered wins over Monticello and Chester and had tied Honesdale. The Falcons are blessed with a multitude of talent and size. Like Fallsburg, they are a skilled and physical team. In the early going, each team made a concerted effort to control the midfield and set up a run with an eye towards an early goal.

Early on, Miller was tripped, and the Comets tried to benefit from a direct kick just outside of the box. But Jessi Maldonado’s ball went right into the hands of Falcon keeper Matt Schneider.

That first missed opportunity was a foreshadow of things to come. Later in the half, a ringing shot by Randy Gilmore rang off the crossbar, and another, a point-blank shot by Erick Santos with the goalie out and behind him, went wide.

Following the missed direct, the Comets got a corner kick, but Elias Vasquez fired one up over the top of the cage. Fallsburg had the better of the early play, as Jose Aguila was winning the control battle against Falcon Jack Soars.

The first goal of the game was scored by Falcon Matt Sertone at 16:44, with an assist from Mike Vaughn. Throw in’s are vital in soccer, and Fallsburg had already had a number of them stolen by The Family School. The goal was a product of a sequence begun thusly, as Soars got the Fallsburg throw in and the flow went towards the Fallsburg net. Vaughn had a shot first that was saved by Comet keeper Colin Whitaker, but the Falcons held in, and Sertone’s goal gave the Falcons the early lead.

Kenney’s Comets don’t rattle. A little more than a minute later, Bill Miller showed his deft dribbling through Falcon defenders on a Fallsburg run. Gilmore gunned the ball ahead to Buckner, who headed it in to the left side of the net to tie it up at one-all with 15:30 to go. Fallsburg’s Erick Santos showed great skills in dribbling and won the ball from Falcon Mike Bocchino. A subsequent cross was grabbed by Schneider, but Falcons’ coach Bill Musgrove was unhappy with the way his team was allowing itself to be dominated by the Comets.

The Falcons played more aggressively in the second half. That, coupled with injuries to Santos and Miller, would ultimately deprive Fallsburg of two of its offensive weapons. The teams remained deadlocked at the half, tied at one goal apiece.

At the start of the half, Kenney told his squad, “Let’s show them we’re tougher and let’s take control of this game.” But it was The Family School that made a statement. A blast by Slava Piakushchav veered just left of the Fallsburg goal. The large forward was in the mix the whole rest of the way. Fallsburg recovered a Family School direct kick, and Gilmore fired a shot point-blank that rang off the crossbar. Getting ahead 2-1 at that juncture, Fallsburg may well have been able to change the tenor of the game. Instead, the tie prevailed.

Buckner made a great try but his shot was deflected by Schneider.

A trip of Miller, just outside of the box, clearly took its toll on the senior’s mobility. Miller is a year-round soccer player who spent this summer honing his skills with Betsy Connaty in Monticello, Carpio Ramos with Liberty United and then at a five-day intensive camp at Syracuse University. The blow hobbled him for the rest of the game, although he did come back in.

Aguila’s direct kick sailed wid and soon the Comets lost Santos for some minutes as he began to limp. Gilmore raced in on Schneider for a shot, but the keeper held on. From 14 minutes to go until the end of the half, The Family School had the better of the play. A steal by Piachushchav led to a corner kick, but the feisty Fallsburg defense would not relent.

The Family School went up 2-1 three minutes into the first overtime period when a deflected ball went from head to head before Chris Fagan banged it home.

Schneider recorded 11 saves for The Family School (3-0-1), while Whitaker had nine for Fallburg, 2-1.

Fallsburg got revenge with a 5-1 win September 17 at the Falcons’ pitch. Fallsburg will host Sullivan West on September 19. The Family School will travel to play Chapel Field on September 19.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of game photos.