For the first time in what has seemed like an eternity, our boys’ soccer team returned from Southold the victors, taking down the Settlers, 2-1, to even their league record at 1-1. The ringing bell outside Johnston Hall broke the silence of study hours on campus, a tradition that the boys were not willing to relinquish despite the lighting igniting the sky. Their excitement was warranted as it was the first time in thirteen years that both the boys’ varsity and junior varsity squads vanquished the red devils on their rocky turf.

1st Half

Khoren Lawson got the scoring started, one-touching a pass from Tyler Anderson past the keeper. Pablo Celis, the “Valencian Vandal,” padded the Bears’ lead on a left-footed, unassisted goal that found the bottom right corner of the net. As spectacular as the shot was, the celebration may have outdone it as Celis ran over to the corner flag and pretended to ride it like a horse. The Blue and White dominated the time of possession in the first half and went into the break with a commanding 2-0 lead. | 2-0

2nd Half

The play was very even in the second frame, but Southold failed to truly test keeper Wes Woodley and his defenders, mustering only a breakaway goal with just ten minutes remaining. | 2-1

In conference play, Stony Brook defeated Southold by the score of 2-1. Senior Khoren Lawson scored in the 10th minute on a one time shot from 20 yards out, and then Junior Pablo Celis added to the lead in the 26th minute on a left footed strike that beat the keeper far post.

~ Newsday

The game was intense at times recalled Anuraag Sah, but lacked the ferocity typical of Stony Brook/Southold matches. This did not mean either team lacked aggressive play. On one play a Southold cross was sent into the box and both Woodley and a Southold striker converged on the ball. Woodley got there first and put his knee up to protect himself, pinning the Settler’s arm between his elbow and knee and breaking the arm. But it was finesse more than power that helped the Bears avenge last year’s defeats of 0-6 and 2-4. Nate Hicks, in his first varsity action, played most of the game and distributed the ball very effectively at center midfield. One Southold fan yelled at him, “Can I see your birth certificate?,” but Hicks displayed maturity and was “cool and collected” in the words of Woodley. This was an important win for the Brook both historically and presently as they proved they can play with the best in the league when they want to. Sah summed up his team’s victory:

It was a good win after a demoralizing loss against Port Jeff [1-4 on Monday]. I feel like we picked our game up after the first half and continued our aggressive offensive flow.

Box Score

Lawson	1 goal
Celis	1 goal
Anderson	1 assist