Somers Defeats Pearl River in Quarterfinals

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On Wednesday May 27, Somers hosted Pearl River in the quarterfinals of the sectionals, and the Tuskers were definitely not slowed by the Pirates late arrival. “We really showed up today,” said Dylan Jimenez, but the final tally proved the comment an understatement.

Somers jumped out to a 12-1 lead and cruised to an easy 21-6 victory.

Even so, Pearl River actually won the opening draw. Small victory, the Pirates quickly turned the ball over, and Bret Kennedy led the first stampede. The long stick passed right to Kieran Picco, and he led Xander DiPasquale into a one v one with the Pearl River goalie. On the left, the attacker leapt off one foot, and his overhead made it 1-0 11:10.

A second straight draw win by Pearl River did at least go the distance. In other words, Somers forced a second shot clock violation, and play eventually came to Jimenez. He swung right all the way to the goal line and made easy work for a 2-0 lead.

At 9:13, the whistle gave Somers the ball but a couple of Pearl River saves put the brakes on the train. Not for long, the Somers transition defense didn’t let Pearl River escape the zone, and Kennedy got things started again. He passed to DiPasquale on the left, and the junior snuck an under-hander into the net with 7:45 left in the first.

3-0, Mason Beresford scooped his own grounder and the locomotive continued to roll. Tristan Iglesias received on the left, and through heavy traffic, his projectile ripped the net.

In at 6:57, Pearl River finally got a crack at Hudson Ruby. A wrap around play, the Tusker reached up and snared the ball. Back the other way, Cam Violante took his turn. He swung into open space right in front and extended the lead to five at 4:43.

Goalie saves on both sides traded possessions, but only Somers took advantage. A loose ball in front had DiPasquale pouncing, and his downward swing gave Somers a 6-0 lead.

The next draw to Pearl River, the Pirates finally stopped treading water. A shot from the left beat Ruby and closed the first period scoring.

Of course, Somers wasn’t worried about momentum. Stifling defense made sure of that at the outset, and the offense took the cue. On a long set up, DiPasquale spotted George Sullivan streaking from on high, and his windmill made it 7-1.

9:03 left in the half, the defense did their part again. The elephants forced another shot clock violation, and DiPasquale picked up the baton. He hit Iglesias and the lead was now 8-1 at 7:27.

45 seconds later, Jayden Newman added another, and not done, Ruby pulled another spark plug. Up with his catcher, Ruby sent Dean Monachelli galloping, he hit DiPasquale in stride and Liam Barrett closed the deal at 5:26.

More than enough writing on the wall, Holden Brelesky scored the running clock goal early in the third, and then the Tuskers took care of family matters. “I never thought I’d get the chance to play with him,” said Dylan Jimenez of his brother Brady.

An eighth grader, the younger did more than just swing the ball around the horn. “I got the ball from Dean (Antonucci) and just put it on the net,” said the JV call up.

Alongside, Antonucci was on familiar ground with his teammate. “We had a play on JV that we scored a bunch of times, and now we did it on a varsity level,” said the sophomore.

Antonucci also assisted Jimmy Truitt for the final goal, and with plenty of room to spare, the Tuskers are ready for the semifinals.

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