Somers Drives Home 16-6 Victory Over Mahopac

On Friday April 12, Somers met Mahopac at home and scored twice in the first two minutes. But the early offensive outburst was not the most foretelling aspect of the 16-6 Somers victory. "Our riding was awesome today,” said Ryan Brush, and the overdrive went into gear right away.

On the first two turns of possession, the Tuskers were all over the Mahopac transition, and the harrying did not abate. “It was a lot of fun seeing them get frustrated,” said the attacker, and limiting the WolfPac offense essentially told the tale.

So Somers not capitalizing on the opening draw win was no bother. First Logan Ruby unhinged the ball with a couple of whacks at Liam Scanlon, and on Mahopac’s next attempt upfield, lateral movement was the best they could do.

The pass forward going long, Mac Sullivan picked up the loose ball, and on the left, Grayden Carr waited in the flat. In scoring position, the attacker swung away and had the first goal.

At 10:14, Matt Mayfields’s quick pick up didn’t wait for the transition game. Scoping and racing forward, the draw man was quick to Sullivan, and he set Luca Ploger up for pay dirt. On the left again, the ball was in before the Somers crowd had a chance to blink.

Only eight seconds elapsing, Mayfield traveled back this time and put Somers on the set up. Lucas Lambertson managing a stop, the goalie hoped for a breather, and he got one but no by much. The pass ahead landing in the catcher of Scanlon at midfield, the big attacker was simultaneously confronted by a herd of Elephants.

A change of pace needed, time out was called, and the Pac would have their first turn. A couple near misses later and Daniel Koch went solo. He started from the 35, rolled right and fired away at 7:40.

A 2-1 game resulting, momentum continued on the draw and a Scanlon wrap-around almost had Mahopac rolling downhill. Just high, though, Somers was soon on the straight and narrow.

Koch forced a pass into the middle, and Dean Palazzolo stepped in for what looked like a pick six. He raced all the way up the field, dumped right for Sullivan and his pass had Brush beaming. “Mac sees the field really well and knows when there’s an open cutter,” he said

Up high went Brush for a 3-1 lead at 5:16, Mayfield put the draw on rewind, and the play forward to Sullivan only barely missed the beat. The sidearm going just high, possession change simply reengaged Somers stifling intensity.

Ploger gave no ground out of the end zone inbound, and chase given, the pass ahead was picked off by Sullivan. His shot going high for a possession change, the tone was still reiterated. “I thought we were really relentless in our riding,” Coach Jordan Hirsch asserted.

Of course, the down shift wasn’t all Somers had going for them. All alone on the left, with a clear line of sight, Koch went underhand at 2:50, and Landon Pepe had the short hop all the way.

A Somers turnover the other way was next, but surrendering the ball was still Mahopac’s cross to bear. First calling a timeout to slow the rush, Somers put it to them anyway when play resumed with 1:38 left in the first.

Under pressure, Mahopac passed the ball out of bounds, and taking back possession, the Tuskers went under the wire. Brush held the ball in the end zone, and with vision of his own, he hit a cutting Mason Kelly with eight seconds remaining.

Up three, the partly cloudy skies couldn’t hold back the downpour on the field to come, and Miguel Iglesias surged as the storm front. He went solo with a sidearm at 10:50, and in cashing in assists from Kelly and Sullivan, the middie downplayed his three minute had trick. Ryan, Mac and the rest, he said, “They give us opportunities, and I guess I just had the most opportunities.”

After Kelly made it 8-1 with six minutes left in half, Koch’s goal proved only a blip to close the first half scoring. Sullivan assisted Brush and Kelly, and in between, Iglesias came flying in on Brush’s beeline from behind.

The 11-2 third quarter lead mostly sealing the deal and obviously showcasing the offense, the coach remained on the main point. “Our whole team plays hard, and you can never question our toughness and effort,” Hirsch concluded.