Somers Falls in Section Final Loss to Rye

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After holding on for a 7-6 victory over Pelham last week, top seeded Rye awaited the Tuskers in the section finals. The upgrade in completion didn’t take long to reveal. At the same time, Rye also noticed an uptake in intensity. Somers fought back from 5-1 and 11-4 deficits that didn’t surprise Coach Jordan Hirsch. “They are always ready for a battle,” he boasted. But the favorites seemed to have an extra gear that the defending state champs could not match.

“They are a great team,” said Hirsch after his boys fell by a score of 13-9.

The game did begin on an even keel, though. After Will Niejadlik’s shot was blocked in front of the Somers goal, the ball kicked to Charlie Brady for an open shot on Hudson Ruby.

1-0 at 10:32, Bret Kennedy scrambled hard for the draw and got the ball to Cam Violante. The junior eluded the big physical defense of Rye and tied the score.

Of course, the Rye defense was not shrunk by the set back. So when Jimenez tried to muscle his way past Jack Levine, the ball came loose, and the transition got the Garnets in position. Brady specifically, he waited on the goal line and hit Henry Gilroy over the middle for a perfect set up.

In at 7:30, Wilson Redd scooped his own draw, and the offense didn’t miss a beat. Gilroy went around a pick, hit Will Niejadlik on the right, and his sidearm increased the lead to 3-1.

Defense led to a three goal lead next. On Jayden Newman’s shot, Sam LaMonte executed with his catcher, got the ball up the field, and Niejadlik galloped the rest of the way for a 4-1 lead at 4:00.

The draw to Rye, Ruby asserted himself. On Brady’s big overhead, the Somers goalie gobbled the one hopper, and the Tuskers got on their horse. Unfortunately Tristan Iglesias and Newman ran into some very big Rye walls on the interior. But the pressure did result in a Rye penalty.

At 2:09. Rye was undeterred. A Jimenez shot was deflected, and after Brady gained possession, he lofted the ball all the way upfield, where Henry Shoemaker caught Ruby out of the net.

An easy goal, the 5-1 lead looked insurmountable. Somers winning the draw lightened the load for the underdogs, and on Violante’s curl to the right, the lead was reduced to three with two seconds left in the first.

Onto the second period and LaMonte shook the foundation. First he made an amazing kick save on Iglesias’ shot out front, and once the scramble was over, Xander DiPasquale emerged ten feet in front of the goal with no one in between. He shot, and LaMonte’s deflection had jaws dropping everywhere.

The ball eventually going to Rye, the Garnets wasted their goalie’s efforts. They turned the ball over in transition, and at 9:45, a pair of penalties gave Somers a two man advantage. No defense strategy for Rye, it was Violante to Jimenez to DiPasquale for a 5-3 game.

In at 9:02, the next three minutes had the ball go back and forth on missed shots. That is until Ruby stopped a big overhead haymaker by Thomas Goldszer. The offense gearing up the other way, Violante passed into the middle to Iglesias, and he cut in to make enough space for a 5-4 game at 5:55.

So much rode on the next draw and Max Niejadlik really got in the weeds to win a ferocious scramble. Just barely, timeout was called, and upon return, Carson Miller turned nothing into something. With no angle on the right, the senior snuck the ball past Ruby at 4:59.

Back and forth the ball went but this time Rye won the drought. At midfield, Miller muscled his way through two Somers defenders and the open field put Shoemaker in the driver’s seat. The senior down shifted and hit Miller cutting across the middle for a 7-4 game to close the half.

On the opening, Redd scooped his own bounce forward and scored only six seconds in. Ruby did make a big stop on Henry Gilroy, but turnovers and an offsides call allowed Rye to jump out to an 11-4 lead.

8:38 remaining in the third, Somers had to get to work and they did. At 5:43, Iglesias swung right and broke Rye’s six goal streak.

A draw scramble then went out of bounds to Somers, and Iglesias began his own streak. Receiving from Jimenez, the junior shot and made it 11-6 at 4:28.

Ruby amazingly kept it there. On a wild loose ball sequence where Rye came up with the ball, Will Niejadlik landed in a one on one in front of the Tusker goalie. Ruby matched Niejadlik’s every juke until the Garnet ran out of time, and his shot went wide.

Liam Barrett came away with the ball, got it ahead, and DiPasquale ended the fast break. 11-7 now, Ruby did it again. Caught out of the goal, he denied Brady at the last second and sent the game into the fourth.

A minute in, Newman made it 11-8 from the left, and after Rye won the draw on another scramble, Holden Brelesky’s pick off in the defensive zone continued the comeback. The flags soon went up, and Iglesias to George Sullivan to Kealin Wiggins made it a two goal game.

Unfortunately, the next scoop went to Redd, and while Somers played great ball denial for most of the shot clock, they couldn’t account for Will Niejadlik taking matters into his own hands. He snuck from behind the net and made it 12-9.

8:04 left in the game, Redd won the next draw but Somers got a little help from the ref after Rye set up. A pass went off the official, and Kennedy picked up the loose ball at 6:45.

Back the other way, the Rye defense continued to eat away at the clock. On a Somers pass from behind the goal, Nigel Strazzini reached up with his long stick and had the interception.

Only 5:48 remaining, Somers did get the ball back after Gilroy hit the post. However, a few misses and a turnover was the beginning of the end. With Ruby double teaming in the end zone, Gilroy was able to elude and come around for the empty net goal.

The icing with two minutes to go, Hirsch had nothing but praise for his team’s persistence. “I’m super proud of the way they fought,” he said.

The coach believes the impact won’t end here either. “I am sure this will be a motivating experience for the guys we have coming back,” asserted Hirsch.

As for the seniors heading out, the coach was at a loss. “I don’t think I have words for them,” he concluded.

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