Griffins pg 10 10-21-21
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In an important Class B matchup Oct. 16 Pomfret School and Kingswood Oxford ended tied at 0 in soccer. Javier Alonso had eight saves.
Coach Patrick Burke said: While both teams started well, both goalkeepers made strong saves throughout the game. It was a game of missed opportunities for both Pomfret and KO with KO having the better of the chances early in the game and Pomfret taking the momentum in the second half.
“Goalkeeper Alonso came up big in the first ten minutes of the game as he made three strong saves to deny Kingswood’s talented #9. Our defense of Ryan Cho, Lawrence Viola, Eumir Rodriguez, Gerald Gao, and Ethan Forbes settled in after that and limited KO’s chances to set pieces. In the midfield, Ethan, Devin Walcott, Grant Maurer, Nate Watson, Kaya Horvath, Caleb White, Nick Ferrucci, and Fred Coulibaly gave us strong minutes. Fred and Nate were impactful in wide channels and their runs with and without the ball gave us our best chances. Declan Chapman, Dylan Tran, Cole Castro, and Van Horvath found time on the ball and helped us keep possession during the first half. We had one of our best chances in the final minute of the half when, from a set piece, Devin put a low drive around the wall that was curling into the net before KO’s goalie made an outstanding save. It was 0-0 at half.
“We started the second half well, as a nice combination play from Grant, Declan, and Devin led to a foul just outside KO’s box. Declan put a great strike on frame, but the KO keeper got a diving touch to force it onto the post. We continued to attack, but couldn’t find the final ball or right cross. Jerry Da gave us strong minutes in the middle, while Nick, Cole, and Fred all had opportunities. Our defense remained organized and Javier made one or two saves when called upon. We also did a nice job of defending set pieces as Ryan, Gerald, Devin, Kaya, Lawrence, and Eumir all won important aerial battles. We had momentum late in the game as Grant, Dylan, and Declan all had strong runs from the midfield, but we couldn’t put our shots on target and our crosses didn’t find our teammates. It ended 0-0.”
Tie Against Suffield
The Pomfret School boys’ soccer team ended its Oct. 13th match against Suffield Academy with a tie.
Coach Patrick Burke said Suffield played an intense, organized, and focused game.
Pomfret’s defense (Eumir Rodriguez, Ryan Cho, Henry Cattell, Gerald Gao, and Ethan Forbes) played well and kept Suffield attacks limited. Goalkeeper Javier Alonso made four saves. The best attempts during the first half came from combination play between Fred Coulibaly, Nate Watson, Nick Ferrucci, Cole Castro, Kaya Horvath, Dylan Tran and Declan Chapman. Declan, Fred, and Cole all went close in the first half, he said.
In the second half, Lawrence Viola, Devin Walcott, and Caleb White found more of the ball in the midfield and some strong runs and quality passes created chances for Nick, Declan, Cole, and Fred. Burke said “We had a few solid set pieces chances as well, but our shots were unable to truly trouble Suffield’s keeper. Our second half performance was better, but at the final whistle the teams remained locked at 0-0.
Worcester Wins 2-0
Oct. 11 the Pomfret School boys’ soccer team knew they had to stay focused the full 90 minutes against Worcester Academy, ranked #1 in New England, said coach Patrick Burke.
He said: “For the majority of the game Pomfret was up to the task, but good teams make small lapses pay, and Worcester was able to capitalize in the second half.
“Pomfret had strong performances today from all of our players. Javier Alonso was fantastic in goal (12 saves). The defense of Ryan Cho, Eumir Rodriguez, Gerald Gao, Ethan Forbes, Henry Cattell, and Lawrence Viola were organized, communicative, and focused. They blocked shots, won aerial duels, and made Worcester earn every opportunity. Pomfret’s midfield of Grant Maurer, Declan Chapman, Devin Walcott, Caleb White, Nate Watson, Cole Castro, Kaya Horvath, Nick Ferrucci, and Lawrence had more of the ball in the first half, but their work rate and complete level remained strong. Dylan Tran and Fred Coulibaly led our attack, and both found space when checking back and were able to retain possession effectively.
“The first half was a back and forth 45 minutes with both teams having opportunities and creating chances. As our legs grew heavy and some injuries occurred, Worcester had more momentum in the second half and were able to sneak one past Javier (which was very hard to do today!) in the 55th minute. We continued to battle and fight for an equalizer. Nate and Fred came closest during this stretch and it was often the good work of Devin, Cole, Kaya, and Declan that sprung our counters. In the 85th minute a loose ball from a set piece was able to barely cross the goal line and give Worcester a 2-0 lead and the win.
By Patrick Burke
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