On Wednesday afternoon, the boys’ soccer team improved to 3-0 on the season with a 2-1 victory over Port Jeff that was shortened due to lighting. The win was the Bears’ fifth straight over their crosstown rivals.

The match started the same way the previous two began, with Alvaro Martinez Torres staking the Brook to a 1-0 lead inside of nine minutes. The scoring began when Caleb Lindo trapped a Port Jeff goal kick and passed the ball ahead to David Wadding. Wadding gave a one-touch header to Martinez Torres, who carried the ball into the box, shook off a defender’s stab, and tucked the ball into the right corner.

The Bears were likely hoping that the offense would roll from there after scoring 11 goals through their first two games, but the Royals had other plans. Less than three minutes later, Port Jeff equalized after benefiting from an opportunistic clear, a defensive miscue, and a deft shot from just inside the box to knot the score at 1-1.

From there the league rivals played evenly for the remainder of the half. The Bears had several great scoring chances thanks to brilliant headers from Jai Narain and Gift Okwa, but the crossbar and keeper stymied each of those challenges. The Bears finally retook the lead thanks to an unassisted effort from who else but Martinez Torres.

The Spaniard engineered a great individual play by beating two different Royal defenders on the left sideline before stinging a shot off of the keeper and into the near-side netting for a 2-1 lead. The goal would prove to be a timely one as a menacing bank of clouds encroached on Fitch Field during the halftime break. Just 19 seconds into the second half thunder was heard, forcing an automatic 30-minute delay. During the delay another thunder roll was heard, prompting another 30-minute delay. The lights were turned on and the teams were minutes away from retaking the field after nearly an hour’s wait when a lightning flash signaled an automatic ending to the match. By Section XI rules a lighting bolt in the second half of a soccer match signals an automatic ending of the match. Thanks to Martinez Torres’ goal late in the first half, the Bears improved to 3-0 on the season.

This is the best start for the boys’ soccer team since 2005 when the Blue and White went undefeated through its first ten games with a record of 8-0-2. This is the first time the Bears have been 3-0 through three games since the 2001 squad started 3-0 with three consecutive shutouts, part of a string of seven clean sheets to begin the year.

Martinez Torres is currently tied for 5th on the Suffolk County goals list with 6 through three games.

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