The rain clouds that had shrouded Long Island over the last week finally dissolved, revealing a beautiful afternoon that brought to mind the unfettered days of summer. It was a perfect afternoon for the boys’ soccer team to take the Fitch Field pitch for the first time this season in a scrimmage with Rocky Point. This year’s squad barely resembles last year’s Suffolk County semifinalist team that graduated nine seniors, but a crop of talented underclassmen is keeping hope for a successful season alive.

During the opening 20 minutes of the first half, both teams battled to a standstill until the Eagles scored two fast break goals in a two-minute span. The Bears’ attack never relented, catalyzed by Remy Leutwyler who made several admirable attempts on goal including a deft shot at the 18-minute mark. 30 seconds later, Eric Hensel sent a nice ball into the box for Haya Nakanishi whose shot just missed the mark. The Bears’ perseverance paid off when Jason Dietz buried a goal after a brief scrum in front of the net. Grunt work from Paul Chung and Mark Brathwaite helped set up the tally. The Pointers added one more goal before the half and nearly netted a fourth, but senior Graham Payne, playing in his first game as a goalkeeper, made a great save.

The Brook played the Eagles evenly for the second half. Payne made another great stop at 24:15 on a low screamer that ricocheted off of his hands and into the crossbar. The Blue and White added another tally when senior Richie Armand, playing in his first soccer game, set up Joe Corrado for the score. Though the Bears lost 4-2, they showed potential despite their youth against a League V opponent. The Bears open up their regular season schedule on September 12 at Mt. Sinai @ 4:00pm.

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