Girls soccer: North Rockland ousts Indians

Written by J.B. Cozens
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 18:24

Playing a second-seeded North Rockland team that was aggressive, physical and athletic, the John Jay girls soccer team found itself in an early 2-0 hole in Tuesday’s Section 1 Class AA quarterfinal game in Thiells.

The Red Raiders had the seventh-seeded Indians on their heels for much of the first half, and seemed in clear control of the game when the teams walked off the field at halftime. John Jay had only one shot on goal in the half.

Which made the Indians’ second-half performance all that more impressive.

The second half was a totally different story, with John Jay controlling the play, aggressively winning balls and playing with much more energy and intensity. The Indians put pressure on the North Rockland defense the entire half, with seven or eight dangerous scoring chances inside the box, and close to 10 outside shots.

Natasha Cucullo’s goal with 7:03 left to play cut the lead to 2-1, and John Jay had several other chances down the stretch but couldn’t get the equalizer, losing 2-1.

John Jay finished the season at 10-5-2.

“In the second half, that was the best 40 minutes we’ve played all season, against one of the best teams not only in the section but also in the state,” said head coach Paul Smith. “Certainly, the one thing this team has never lacked is heart.

“If you go down, you want to go down fighting,” he continued. “We certainly went down fighting.”

The Red Raiders improved to 14-1-2 with the win.

North Rockland scored two goals in a span of 50 seconds to take an early 2-0 lead, both off beautiful shots from one of the section’s top scorers, Francesca Kentimenos.

She first scored at 28:10 on a perfectly placed shot from 25 yards into the top right corner of the goal. She made it 2-0 at 27:20 on another well-placed shot, this time from 10 yards out, that goalie Kelly Sposato again had little chance on.

The Indians changed from a 3-4-2 formation to a 4-4-2, and although the Raiders continued to control the play, John Jay was able to even things out a little.

“Once we changed to the 4-4-2, it settled us down and gave us a little more coverage in the back,” said Smith.

The Raiders had a many dangerous chances in the first half, and finished the half with a 6-1 edge in shots and 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Sposato (who finished with 12 saves) also had to handle about nine or 10 balls in front of the goal or by ranging off her line to smother through balls into the box.

North Rockland’s best chance in the latter part of the first half came with 14 minutes left, when Sposato got her hand on a corner kick curling to the top of the goal, and Hannah Wear cleared the rebound off the line near the post.

The Indians’ best chance of the half, and only real scoring opportunity, came with under two minutes left when Callie Deitrick and Wear combined to get the ball down the right side, with Ciara Hautau then crossing the ball to the middle, where it was just cleared before Nicole Silenok could get off a shot. On the ensuing corner kick, the ball wound up rolling to just outside the box, giving Wear a 20-yard shot that the keeper easily handled.

In the second half, John Jay had multiple opportunities, with eight free kicks, two corner kicks and four throw-ins deep in the North Rockland end. The Indians had seven or eight dangerous scoring chances inside the box, and close to 10 outside shots.

The Indians played aggressively in the midfield, getting a huge spark from Natasha Cucullo, who was moved from the backline to midfield and was relentless in winning balls.

Outside midfielder Clare Cirillo also came up to wins balls, and followed with several great runs down the sidelines to set up scoring chances.

In the middle, Zoe Boyd, Mika Cucullo and Deitrick continuously pushed forward, while Silenok, Hautau, Wear, Katie DeLuca and Claudia d’Ottillie attacked the wings and center. Hannah Casill, Kelsey Beaty, Katie Flynn, Noel Popoli, Kelsey Davey and Nathalie Lavelanet also contributed to the overall effort.

At 32 minutes, Lauren Hafkemeyer got her head on Boyd’s direct kick and sent the ball wide. A minute later, her throw-in into the box was cleared after Wear and Mika Cucullo both tried to convert. Then Silenok took the ball into the left box and sent a ball to the middle, which was just cleared before Mika Cucullo could get off a shot.

At 19 minutes, with John Jay pushing up, the Raiders got a breakaway, with Sposato able to divert Kentimenos to end line, where her shot hit the post and was cleared by Emily Johnston.

A John Jay corner kick at 22 minutes results in two consecutive shot in front by Natasha Cucullo — one blocked by a defender and the other saved by the keeper.

Boyd had two long kicks, with one shot going wide and the next caught by the keeper. The Indians dodged a bullet with 17 minutes left when North Rockland misfired on a wide-open shot right in front of the goal, after a breakaway and cross pass.

John Jay kept up the pressure, with two more long-range shot by Boyd and a 25-yard shot by Wear with 13 minutes left that was just wide of the post. Two minutes later, John Jay survived another North Rockland breakaway, as Hafkemeyer hustled back to slow down attack, and Sposato cut down the angle and lunged to knock the ball clear.

With eight minutes left, Hautau’s shot in the box was blocked by a defender.

The Indians finally broke through with 7:03 left when Deitrick slid a pass to Natasha Cucullo, who drilled a beautiful 25-yard shot inside the right post to cut the lead to 2-1.

John Jay had chances to tie down the stretch, with Boyd’s free kick just going over the crossbar at 5:30, and Natasha Cucullo’s 35-yard blast stopped on a high save with about two minutes left.

In the final minutes, Boyd’s free kick from midfield landed in the box and deflected to the left, where it bounced into a North Rockland defender’s arm — but the hand ball was not called and North Rockland cleared.

“The unfortunate part of the game was the first 15 minutes,” said Smith, who was impressed with how the Indians fought back after the rough start.

“It was a character check, and they responded very well to that,” he said. “I’m very proud of every one of them.”