Senior Day arrived for the boys’ soccer team as our eight seniors played their final regular season match on Fitch Field. Anuraag Sah made sure his final stroll off of his home turf was a victorious one, providing the lone goal in a tightly contested 1-0 match. The Greenport coaching staff is sure to have nightmares about our sensational forward as in the first match-up the Bears overcame two disallowed goals to win 1-0 on a strike from Sah in the 71st minute. It was a bitterly cold day, made worse by the unabating wind, but the Bears withstood the chill and, despite falling short on several scoring opportunities, they did enough to send the Porters home with a loss.

1st Half

In the opening minutes, a Greenport fan made the comment, “Stony Brook soccer: kick and run. That’s all they do!” His comment was a bit naïve, and poorly summed up the technique of our offense, but when we do simply “kick and run” it can still be deadly as the Porters found out with 26:03 left in the period. After coming close to a tally twice in quick succession, Sah received a great through-ball from Pablo Celis, blew past his defender and blasted a well-placed shot that nicked the near post and slipped past the keeper for the eventual game-winner. The Bears had several other chances that they were unable to convert, one of their best coming on a neat cross from Sah that Lukas Alijosius drilled off of the netminder. | 1-0

2nd Half

As dusk encroached and the bitter chill worked its way past the muscles and into the bones, the Bears and Porters settled into a very even battle as neither team had any tantalizing looks at the goal for the majority of the half. The minutes ticked away as the ball was kicked back and forth between the two defenses with little possession happening in the midfield. Our forwards had a number of offside calls erase goal possibilities, but thankfully Greenport was unable to capitalize on our scoring drought. Our best chance at sealing the game came with just over three minutes remaining when Cem Hayirli played a beautiful ball into the box that Sah headed off the crossbar. | 1-0

Impressions

It was not their most elegant win of the season and Coach Johnny Whallon could likely point out some things that could have been executed better, but a win is always a win and this was an important one. The victory kept us ahead of Pierson in the standings and with one game remaining we control our own destiny as to whether or not we host a home playoff game or travel to Pierson.

What encourages me most is this is our fourth one-goal win of the season, so this team has gained some vital experience in close games which is always important as the playoffs arrive. It is also our seventh shutout of the season and if the boys want to attain the goals they have set out for themselves, our ability to keep the other team off the board will be paramount. The boys complete their regular season slate on 10/27 @ the Ross School.

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