Fall 2009
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| Boys Soccer Ends Season 2nd in League
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| November 3, 2009 GFS 3, Shipley 4
Shipley and GFS played 110 scoreless minutes in the FSL Finals Tuesday afternoon and evening in a taut, even, back-and-forth game. League rules stipulate that if the score is tied after regulation (80 minutes), 2 ten-minute overtimes and 2 5-minute golden goal (sudden victory) periods, that the game is to be decided on penalty kicks. Shipley scored 4 pk's and GFS scored 3.
Coach Matt Zipin said, "Shipley is an outstanding team. They are skilled, strong and fast at every position, and their goalkeeper is excellent. Every now and then they would get a dangerous opportunity--they hit a ball off the crossbar in one of the overtimes that had our goalie Jay Query beat, but it bounced straight up and Jay grabbed it. Our defenders were dogged and determined all day. Most of their shots came from long range, and Jay handled the long balls easily. On 2 occasions in the first half, Shipley had great chances. On the first, a ball was hit from the right side of the 18-yard box towards the middle, where a Shipley player was, for one of the very few times all day, open. He headed it towards the open goal, but all of a sudden, Jay raced across the goal line and grabbed it. Then later in the half a Shipley player hit a rocket of a shot from about 25 yards out that went directly at Jay. 3 feet on either side and it would have scored, it was hit so hard. And outside of that, they had few dangerous chances. Fullbacks Evan Miller, Mike Pinover, Hank Goldenberg, Nick Marini and Brendan Turner played with tenacity, skill and heart, helping each other out and keeping Shipley away from goal. They were great. Late in the 2nd half, Mike pulled his hamstring, so he had to come out for good, and Evan--who rarely comes out--got cramps in his calves, and he sat out for about 25 minutes. When he came out, I moved Manolo Sanchez back to sweeper--Evan's position--and he did a great job on defense for the rest of the game. But we missed him on offense."
"Offensively, we didn't get many chances either," saiz Zipin. "Shipley's defense was fast and tough, and every now and then we would see some daylight near the goal, but not very often. Our 2 most dangerous plays came when someone--maybe Henry Bushnell, maybe Marcelo Osorio-Soto--crossed a ball into the box from the right side. Manolo soared into the air and headed the ball towards goal, knocking it an inch or two over the bar. And in the second half, we got a free kick which Manolo took quickly, driving a great ball to the far post where Ibz Kamara headed it. Unfortunately, the ball hit the outside of the post and bounced out of bounds."
"As the game went on, players from both teams--but mostly ours--succumbed to cramps, falling to the ground unable to get up. Our Athletic Trainer Maryanne or the Shipley trainer would trot onto the field, help the player to stagger off the field, and the game would continue. This added 25 or 30 minutes to the game, and the players were just about out of gas when the ref blew the whistle to end the second (and last) 5-minute overtime. That meant we went to PK's."
"The rule for PK's is that each team selects 5 players who will shoot against the other team's goalie. The shot is from 12 yards out and no one but the goalie can defend. It's tough for the goalie to stop PK's and most shots that are on goal score. The team that scores the most out of 5 wins. All of the non-shooters were at half-field, arms draped around each other, unable to help their teammates except by prayer. The 5 shooters from each team were 30 yards from goal, with one of the referees, waiting their turns. Shipley went first, and their first player scored. Our first shooter was Henry Bushnell, who hit a terrific shot that the Shipley goalie somehow got a hand on. This worried me a bit. Their second shooter scored. Our second shooter was Evan Miller, who hit a decent shot that was stopped by the Shipley keeper. Bad luck. Their 3rd shooter hit a shot that Jay nearly saved, but it rolled just underneath him for a goal. Manolo scored for us, making it 3-2 them. Their 4th shooter shot and Jay saved it! Marcelo scored our 4th kick, tying the shootout. Shipley scored on their 5th kick, leaving it up to Sam Mercuris, one of our senior captains. Sam hit a decent shot that the goalie knocked away, and the game was over."
GFS boys soccer ends its season with a record of 10-5-1, finishing 2nd in the league for the 3rd time in 4 years (GFS beat Shipley in the finals 2 years ago). We scored 42 goals and gave up 14.
Zipin said, "I want to commend our seniors, all of whom gave a great effort today and contributed a great deal to the soccer program over the last 4 years: Nick Fromell, Nick Marini, Sam Mercuris, Marcelo. Jay Q, Manolo, Jason Symonette and Brendan Turner. They played a terrific game today against an excellent opponent. We will miss them greatly as they move on to college. I also want to thank my co-coaches, Chris Coxe and Carl Tannenbaum (JV) and Brett Turner (middle school A and varsity) and Kevin Saiki (varsity) for all of the time and effort they put into the soccer program all season. We have a great, dedicated staff here at GFS, and I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such terrific guys and insightful soccer minds. I would also like to thank the fans who came today and all season to support us; that means a lot to the players, and it speaks to the type of supportive community we are all a part of. There were a bunch of alums at the game today as well, and I am particularly pleased with the soccer tradition and legacy we have established." | |
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