An exceedingly bizarre afternoon unfolded yesterday as the boys soccer team took on the Ross School. To begin with, the Ravens were nowhere to be found as the pre-game clock approached 00:00. We soon received word that our opponents were delayed by an accident on the Long Island Expressway and would not be on campus until around 6:00pm. With a rare Wednesday night game waiting in the wings, the events surrounding the game became increasingly odd.

A falcon flew out of the woods and perched atop one of the light stanchions and, for those familiar with literary imagery, it was a striking occurrence. A bird of prey is often a sign of power and might, as seen in Cassius’ observations of two eagles in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, but was this a good omen for Stony Brook or Ross? Or, was this a foreboding omen for the Ravens, a bird often targeted by carnivorous fowl? Our adversary finally arrived, allowing a unique soccer game to unfold.

1st Half

Our boys were sharp from the opening whistle, which was impressive because a team that has to wait around for over an hour after being warmed up has a tendency to come out flat. The play of the Bears was anything but spiritless as they began attacking in the opening minute and did not end their siege until time expired. With only 5:07 gone in the game Anuraag Sah took the ball down the left sideline and put a beautiful, curving cross into the box. Mark Brathwaite, in his first varsity appearance, made a great hustle play by beating the Ross defenders to the ball and putting the pass off his shin and in for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.

Just over ten minutes later, after four more close chances at a goal, TJ Valet dribbled the ball down the right sideline and sent a soaring cross to the far post where Sah headed it in off of a high bounce to net the game’s second goal.

The game was very much in hand for the Blue and White, but not once during the opening frame did they seem complacent with their lead. Their attacks were relentless and never allowed the Ross netminder and his guards to recover their breath. With 15:45 remaining in the first half, Sah collected his second assist of the game by drilling a gorgeous corner kick to Tyler Anderson waiting on the back post. Anderson buried the goal and began his patented somersault celebration. Just four minutes later, Sah drilled the crossbar on a strike from fifteen yards as the onslaught continued.

With a three-goal cushion, the Bears were very much in command, but they did not take their cleats off the accelerator. In the final 4:37 of the half, the boys notched three more goals to grab a remarkable 6-0 halftime lead. The fourth goal came when Jon Wentling appeared to be fouled in the box. The Ross defense stopped, apparently awaiting a whistle, while a heady Matt Schneider continued playing and blasted a strike into the upper half of the net. The next score came on a 35-yard set piece from the boot of Anderson, a gorgeous ball that carried into the box and found Wentling who headed it in with 2:29 remaining. The exclamation point on the half came when Khoren Lawson struck a ball off the head of a Ross defender and into the net for a peculiar goal on a bizarre night. | 6-0

2nd Half

As the October night became increasingly cool, the Bears offense stayed hot. The attacks continued to come and a 6-0 lead could have easily been 10-0 by game’s end with the kind of ferocity the boys were playing with. Yet another curious incident happened in the early part of the half when Eric Hensel and the goalie converged on a 50-50 ball. Hensel got there first and struck the ball directly into the goalie’s stomach in a completely legal play. However, the referee pulled out a red card from his shirt, penalizing what he felt was a dangerous play. For the remainder of the game the Brook played down a man, which made their eventual shutout all the more impressive.

Coach Johnny Whallon rightly subbed early and often and gave a number of backups and JV players some valuable minutes on the pitch. Starting goalie Wes Woodley, who was barely tested in the first frame, watched as Phil Gape and 8th-grader Dan Colasanto preserved the shutout, each making several great saves in the waning minutes. The scoring was complete when PK Thorstenn struck a corner kick that was again put home by a hustling Anderson with 20:38 remaining. In the closing minutes the substitutes displayed their skill by building some great offensive possessions and narrowly missing on several scoring opportunities, all the while being cheered on by the starters. | 7-0

Stony Brook used an offensive flurry of goals to propel them to a victory over the visiting Ross School. Sophomores Mark Braithwaite and Matt Schneider both scored their first varsity goals in the 1st half. Tyler Anderson also scored two goals for the Bears off headers. Goalkeepers Phil Gape (2 saves) and Dan Colasanto (3 saves) both played well in second half and helped preserve the shutout.

~ Newsday

Impressions

The focus and passion of the boys yesterday was exciting. Despite having to warm up again and realign their attention, they were able to play well from the beginning. Their brand of soccer last night was clean and intelligent and the way they communicated and shared the ball was a thing of beauty. They did this all against a team that was by no means a pushover. Ross beat Greenport 2-1 two weeks ago, a squad we beat 1-0, lost 2-1 to a strong Smithtown Christian team and are currently the only team in the league to have scored on Port Jeff. The Brook dominated that team from beginning to end and put together their most inspiring performance of the season. Their next contest is a big one, a rematch with Port Jeff on Friday October 8 @ 4:00pm on Fitch Field.

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