Somers Defeats Hen Hud to Start 3-0

2-0 to start the season, Somers woke up early on Tuesday April 2 and fell behind 1-0 to visiting Hen Hud. “We started off a little slow,” said Grayden Carr, and the power outage holding for almost eight minutes, the offensive switch went on from the far end of the field.

Hen Hud turned the ball over, the pass went back to Landon Pepe and the goalie lobbed the ball 70 yards ahead. Mason Kelly caught it in stride and flipped to Mac Sullivan. The defense drawn, the quarterback found Carr on the left for the goal, and Somers turned the corner in an easy 13-3 victory.

Still, the slow start wasn’t entirely on the Somers end. Kelly took a pass from behind and Aidan Mazzoni stopped him on the shot and the rebound. Then after James McManus scored for the 1-0 lead, Kelly tried again. He ran through the defense into space, and the Sailor goalie snared high with his catcher.

Of course, Pepe could play that game too. Swinging right, Logan Moore got a step and fired a leaping laser from 15 yards out. No problem, Pepe made it look easy with his catcher and sent the ball long for Miguel Iglesias.

Coming down with the bomb, the air mail package didn’t result in a goal but proved a test run for Carr at 4:24. The tie didn’t last either and it was a 50-50 ball that gained the lead for good.

Cam Violante mishandled the ball on the pass right but refused to give in to the bigger defender. Time given, Kelly got into the fray, scooped the ball and passed back to Sullivan. Not done, Kelly made his cut, Sullivan had the read and the pass back set Kelly right out front.

A full head of steam, Mazzoni didn’t have a chance at 3:14, and the Tuskers didn’t give him much time to think about it. Matt Mayfield won the draw, and his team worked the ball around until Iglesias came into view on the right. Winding up, he went sidearm, and Somers led 3-1 at 2:28.

45 seconds later, Somers was in full command. Another draw the Tusker way, Ryan Brush spotted Kelly front and center, and his windmill closed the first quarter scoring at 4-1.

The face off to Matt Mayfield again, Somers fired away for the next two and a half minutes. A post and a few near misses, ball control made the next goal seem like just a matter of time, and tic-tok, Mac Sullivan wasn’t on snooze. A clear line of sight from the left, the senior unleashed and Somers took a 5-1 lead.

At 9:36, Mayfield’s draw win didn’t pan out this time. The ball turned over, Hen Hud got up the field, and Matt Ryan took the opportunity in his own hands. On the left, he got around the defense, cut in on the goal line and snuck the ball in past Pepe at 7:41.

A 5-2 game, Mayfield’s win at the 50 had Hen Hud refusing to break this time. Mazzoni stopped Kelly’s shot from ten yards out, and the Sailors ran the possibility of a two goal deficit up the flagpole.

Dean Pastalove going off the post didn’t get it done and twice Pepe stood down heavy traffic. In turn, Somers gained possession, and a white flag was more like it. Brush waited at X and Kelly marked the spot from the left. He geared up and beat Mazzoni to close the first half scoring at 6-2.

Pretty comfortable, Somers had the luxury of playing good defense, and Tristan Wachtel came up big on two occasions. Down in the far corner, he swung down his big stick to strip the ball from Pastalove at eight minutes, and two minutes later, he did the same to the Sailor on the other side.

Coming away with the ball too, Wachtel got the ball up the field and let Carr do the rest. He swung right and found the net for a 7-2 lead.

In at 4:49, Mayfield kept the roll going. He won the draw, raced upfield for Sullivan, and he hit Brush for a six goal lead.

Only seven seconds elapsing, Somers slowed things down a bit and took a full forty seconds to score. On the set up, Iglesias swung right and passed back left for an open Carr. All alone with the goalie and Somers had a 9-2 lead.

Very comfortable now, the defense looked like they would get into the scoring act. Wachtel again causing a ruckus in the Somers end, the ball came loose, and he broke the other way on the turnover. The pass arriving ahead to the defender, Wachtel was primed to take it to the house, and the crowd was with him.

Instead, the big man thought team first, and retreated after the pass. The shot going out of bounds, he jokingly rethought his decision to not give the people what they wanted. “Next time, I’ll let it rip,” Wachtel deadpanned.

Cam Violante scored anyway on the possession, and the inevitable outcome had Carr incrementally looking forward. “We’re taking one game at a time, and we want to get better everyday,” he concluded.