Somers Evan Kieltyka (25) celebrates his first half goal with teammates Jake Faigle (2) and Max Grell (19) against Vestal during the boys soccer regional semifinal at Lakeland High School in Shrub Oak Nov. 2, 2016. Somers won the game 3-0.
SHRUB OAK – It had been 36 days since Somers last scored more than two goals in game, but that streak was snapped in less than one half in Wednesday’s Class A regional semifinal at Lakeland High School.
Pitted against Section 4 champion Vestal, the Tuskers started strong and put together perhaps their best performance of the year in a 3-0 victory. The win sent Somers to Friday’s regional final at Middletown High, which will be played at noon against Section 9 champ Goshen.
“This is what we’ve been trying to put together,” sophomore Jon Riina said. “We know we have it in the back — it’s just a matter of what we can assemble up top.”
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The Tuskers (17-2-2) allowed just two goals in four playoff games on their way to their first Section 1 championship since 1992, with senior goalkeeper Kenny Kurtz and the defense taking away much of the pressure from the offense.
Including the regular season, Somers had gone nine games without exceeding two goals, but Wednesday’s breakout performance came at the perfect time. Less than three minutes into the game, senior Evan Kieltyka netted one to give the Tuskers a quick lead and they never looked back.
“It was a beautiful play into the box,” Kieltyka said. “All I really had to do was finish it.”
33 min: Make it 3-0 Somers after this pretty goal from Ronan Brady. Almost looked too easy. #lohudsoccer pic.twitter.com/AFetgZO1na
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) November 2, 2016
In the 11th minute, Riina headed in a throw from Lucas Fecci to make it 2-0. And in the 33rd, Jack Maher set up Ronan Brady on a well-executed free kick to put the game out of reach for Vestal (14-3-2).
“That’s what we always talk about,” Riina said. “Get an early goal and we settled down. The nerves go away, they’re on the heels and it opens the door for us to keep going.”
The Tuskers’ previous three games in the Section 1 tournament came down to the wire, but they were able to get their starters some much-needed rest on Wednesday.
They believe that playing such tight games in the past couple weeks helped prepare them for the state tournament. Somers’ semifinal against Byram Hills came down to the penalty kicks, and the section final against Pearl River was decided by freshman Drew Lasher’s goal with less than four minutes to play.
“After playing teams like (Pearl River and Byram Hills), it definitely makes us more confident now that we see what other competition might be like compared to Section 1,” Riina said.
As good as the Tuskers looked against Vestal, Kieltyka and the other captains were quick to guard against overconfidence.
“We really played well together and came out fired up after the section title,” he said. “It was a good game for us, but there’s always room for improvement. We can definitely play better, but we’re doing what we need to do right now. Our goal is to get to the state final.”
Twitter: @vzmercogliano
Somers goal keeper Kenny Kurtz (1) makes a save as Vestal’s John Scott (10) and Somers Evan Kieltyka (25) collide during the boys soccer regional semifinal at Lakeland High School in Shrub Oak Nov. 2, 2016. Somers won the game 3-0.
From left, Vestal’s Nate Parsons (21) and Somers Max Grell (19) battle for ball control during the boys soccer regional semifinal at Lakeland High School in Shrub Oak Nov. 2, 2016. Somers won the game 3-0.
