Schools
Pearl River Ties TZ, Clinches League Title
Pearl River and Tappan Zee boys soccer teams tied for the second time this season, this one clinching the League 4-B title for the Pirates.
Despite not having a game Thursday night, the Albertus Magnus boys soccer team still played a pivotal role in crowning this season’s League 4-B title.
Albertus beat Tappan Zee in overtime on Sept. 26, giving the Flying Dutchmen their only league loss this year. Because of that loss, the Dutchmen had to outright beat Pearl River Thursday night at home to win the league.
After 100 minutes of play, including two 10-minute overtime periods, nobody could score and the game ended in a 0-0 tie, giving Pearl River the league crown. The Pirates finished 6-0-2 in league play whereas Tappan Zee finished 5-1-2. The team teams tied, 1-1, when they , as well.
“The game went the way we expected it to,” said Pearl River coach Damon O'Keefe. “You have two great teams both having great years, and both goalies played really well.”
That they did. Both teams had chances to score throughout the game, but Pearl River’s Justin Cueva and Tappan Zee’s Danny Calderon proved too tough a final blockage for either team to put a point on the board.
“It was a high-energy game that really went back-and-forth, and both teams had chances,” Cueva said. “I’m happy we’re league champs, but it would’ve been nicer to win it by winning the game and beating Tappan Zee.”
Cueva finished with 10 saves and Calderon notched 12 for his sixth shutout this year.
“He’s a great athlete, and a boxer in the offseason, so he’s a tough kid,” said Tappan Zee coach Steve Purkis. “He’s kept us in a lot of games this season, including tonight’s.”
Calderon was tested fairly early, when around seven minutes into the game, he left the goal to try and retrieve a ball heading for the corner. Pearl River’s Alex Castillo chased it down first and unloaded a shot from just a few feet away from Calderon, who blocked it and sent the ball back toward midfield.
Toward the end of the first half, Tappan Zee’s Chris Kane got a loose ball in front of the net with his back turned to the goal, jumped and lofted it over his head, but the ball sailed over the net to end the scoring threat.
In the overtime, Pearl River had one of the better scoring chances of the night on either side when Castillo ran down a ball on the right side of the net before the Dutchman defender reached it, and while falling down centered the ball to Jared Schlosser, who was cutting toward the goal. Schlosser received the ball in front of the net with only the goalie in front of him, rocketed a shot, but got just a bit too much of it and it sailed over the net.
Castillo and Schlosser almost ended it again a few minutes later, when Castillo blasted a shot at Calderon, who tipped the ball but didn’t stop it. The ball kept inching toward the goal line as Schlosser raced in to try and boot in the rebound, but Calderon beat him to the ball. Calderon snatched the ball out of the air and the two briefly collided.
“That was huge,” Purkis said. “That play saved the game of us.”
If the goalies weren’t making scoring difficult enough, both sides also had to play with swirling winds which sent the ball flying toward the goal on one end and completely deadened anything more than a few feet off the ground going the other way.
“It really changed the direction of the ball a lot,” Cueva said.
Both teams still have a bit of regular season to finish up, but both sides are gearing up for the playoffs, which start next week.
“We would’ve liked to win the league, but we still accomplished one of our goals for the season,” Purkis said. “That’s to reach sectionals, and we’re excited for them to start.”
