Somers Sinks the Admirals on Senior Night

On Wednesday October 14, Somers welcomed Arlington to the high school for senior night, and among them, Aimee Kovacs didn’t mind that the Admirals were up close and personal all afternoon.  So plenty of proximity, the pressure still proved no bother in the end.

“They were in my face, but I stopped them” she said after pitching a 2-0 shutout.

The defenses stifling at the outset, Somers was the first to get in deep. On a free shot, Caitlyn Mayfield got her entry all the way down to Hailee Evers, so the Admirals needed saving. The Arlington goalie came sliding out and kicked the ball into the clear at 10:50.

Back the other way, the Somers defense answered in kind when Sophia LaRue escaped the zone and got ahead to Charlotte Reina. Galloping the sideline, her move inside was hit head on by Leah Horowitz,

Cleared to the sideline, the Tuskers were next to get on their horse. Emma Donaldson pushed the ball forward from midfield, and Mayfield targeted an open Evers on the left. One v one, Evers passed right, but the Admiral net minder came flying out again for the save at 8:44.

Mayfield kept coming anyway. First she got a midfield steal, which was not the last and no surprise to Vivian Davila. “She gets very low and stays aggressive and ambitious,” said the senior.

A free shot eventually emerging, Mayfield went on the offensive. She stick handled inside, and another kick save was tallied to the Arlington score sheet.  

Pressure that didn’t abate until Adriana Heitman put the stops on and led Reina up the field. Cutting in again, her back hand swipe made a lot of noise but chipped wide at 4:30.

Arlington mostly stayed nearby for the rest of the period, and plenty of Somers defense helped maintain the scoreless status quo. Onto the second, the possessions went back and forth, and the goalies got a respite.

That is until the Somers defense transitioned the ball ahead, and Evers crashed the offensive zone at the seven minute mark. A scrum formed around the goalie, but Somers couldn’t get the final push.

Neither could Arlington when Reina went coast to coast. She blasted away, and Kovacs had the kick at 3:45. 

Not done, the Admiral teed up two minutes later. The ball meandered toward the crease and Sofia Borrelli sticked the dribbler away to preserve the scoreless half time tie.

Reina didn’t do her part to keep it that way, though. She got some space on the right, and swung away at 12:50.  Thud, the sound always comes with a sentiment, according to Casey Johns.  “On the sideline we automatically cheer, ‘Aimee not today,’” said the sophomore. 

Even so, Reina was tone deaf. From the right, the middie made a cross pass, and into a very crowded crease, the moment was pretty tenuous.  No problem, Kovacs had the kick out.

A penalty corner resulting, Reina received and locked and loaded. Not good enough, Mayfield raced out for the block, and the hustle had Kovacs expressing appreciation. “My defense did great. They really kept the ball off of me,” she boasted.

Of course, Reina refused to oblige. The middie picked up the ball in the Arlington zone and raced for Kovacs. Unfortunately for the tall naval officer, the sound of the Tusker pads were just as unpleasant with 6:18 left in the third.

Still tied, Mayfield initiated a near miss when the middie stole the ball at midfield. A long pass ahead resulted in a free shot, and Sabrina Guaragna made the most of the charity. She passed into the crease for Vivian Davila, but the Tusker deflected the pass wide at 5:21.

Arlington’s turn, Reina did the dirty work first. She made the long trek into the Somers zone, and Heitman took it from there. She stick handled into the elephant morass, got some space and swung for the fences.

Kovacs pads intervening, another threat was denied at 4:26, but Somers would finally break through with the period running down. The impetus was no surprise either. 

Mayfield intercepted a pass, weaved her way forward, and Casey Johns did the rest. “I noticed Caitlyn coming down,” said Johns. “I was open facing the circle, got it and shot it,” she said with 21 seconds to go.

A period to go at 1-0, Arlington pressed on nonetheless. They contained the ball in Somers' zone at the outset, but Mayfield got the clear at 12 minutes.

Back and forth play continued until Somers forced a penalty corner at 9:38. “Passed back to me, I looked for the shot and didn’t have it,” said Davila.

 Still, the senior knew what to do. “I saw my little Emma. So I passed it across the goal, and she followed through as usual,” she said.

9:04 remaining, Arlington kept shooting, Kovacs kept kicking and the winning proficiency had Johns wrapping up her goalie’s day.. “They had a lot of front door opportunities,” concluded Johns. “She just had those quick kicks and really executed.”

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