NewCanaanite.com (https://newcanaanite.com/2nd-half-corner-spoils-new-canaan-boys-soccers-upset-bid-over-rival-blue-wave-42712)
Andrew Gibbens dribbles the ball upfield against Darien on Sept. 20, 2016. Credit: Jim Healey
Wes Farley moves the ball up the field against Darien on Sept. 20, 2016. Credit: Jim Healey
Scenes from New Canaan boys soccer vs. Darien on Sept. 20, 2016. Credit: Jim Healey
Senior co-captain Hugo Potter tries to get the offense jump-started against Darien on Sept. 20, 2016. Credit: Jim Healey
After starting the season with three consecutive losses, the New Canaan boys soccer team notched its first point of the season with a 1-1 tie against Brien McMahon on Saturday—an effort they hoped would give them momentum coming in to Tuesday’s matchup at Conner Field against arch rival Darien.
But while the defense and spectacular goaltending by senior co-captain Sam Stoner kept the Rams (0-4-1) in it till the end, it proved to not be enough as Darien midfielder Sean Gallagher connected with teammate Jason Flynn on a corner kick in the 62nd minute to give the Blue Wave (3-2-0) all the scoring it would need to claim the victory, 1-0.
“I said to the team after the game that I thought they worked incredibly hard,” head coach Rich Sutherland told NewCanaanite.com. “I feel Darien’s going to be top-eight [in the FCIAC] again this season. They have some very good players on that team which we were prepared for. And we made it difficult for them today, overall. I can’t really ask too much more from those who played. They [Darien] did cause us some problems in set pieces—not as much in open play given how much they had possession. But our biggest problem was when we would run with the ball we just couldn’t keep it. We would give it straight back to them and our back end was constantly tested. So we just need to have better retention of the ball and try to give our back four guys a little bit of a break. Today we just weren’t able to do that—we couldn’t hold onto the ball long enough.”
The first half was scoreless but that was not due to a lack of quality chances for Darien. Just six minutes into the game, Flynn sent a ball on net from about 10 yards out that Stoner dove to his right and punched away. That was one of three key saves of the half for the senior keeper, the final one coming in the last couple minutes where Stoner put his body on the line and dove in the middle of the traffic in his keeper’s box to keep the score knotted at zero heading into halftime.
The strong play of the defense, anchored by senior co-captain Chris Harte, and Stoner’s stellar efforts was still ever-present in the early portion of the second half. Which meant that if the Rams could just strike on the offensive end of the field, they would have the necessary ingredients to capture a victory against their rival. And during a stretch of about four minutes in the early part of the latter half, the Rams finally were able to put some pressure on Darien goalkeeper David Volz.
First came a chance off a corner kick from junior Stephen Curiale that landed in traffic in front of the net, but Darien cleared. Seconds later, that was followed by Curiale sending a free kick opportunity up to senior forward Andrew Gibbens, who booted it on net but was robbed by Volz. And what proved to be the final chance was set up on a beautiful feed by Gibbens to Sam Rhodes in front. From point-blank range, Rhodes tried to angle it past Volz, and all Rams fans were ready to cheer. But it was to no avail as the ball ricocheted off Volz’s legs to a Blue Wave defender and was then cleared downfield.
Outside of one more chance for New Canaan, the rest of the half’s scoring opportunities belonged to Darien. At the tail end of the 61st minute, Blue Wave forward Pablo Martinez booted a ball on net off a free kick that Stoner punched to the side, out of play, rewarding Darien with a corner kick. As the clock then ticked into the 62nd minute, Gallagher stepped over to the corner of the far left sideline and once his teammates were ready, sent a rainbow of a pass just over the outstretched arms of Stoner to Flynn’s right foot, who tapped it in for the goal of the game.
Now with the lead, Darien still did not let up. About eight minutes later Gallagher sent one on net that required Stoner to sprawl out to his right. The keeper just got his hands on the ball to send it bouncing off the post and back into play, keeping the deficit at one. But New Canaan just didn’t have the offensive firepower to mount a late comeback.
However, the fact that it had a chance to get any points out of this game at all is a credit to the play of their keeper, Stoner.
“I thought he made three or four excellent saves,” Sutherland said of his keeper. “Sam really did come up big for us today. Darien put us under a lot of pressure, but he did what we asked him to do.”
However, with a tough schedule upcoming, in order for the Rams to dig themselves out of the 0-4-1 hole they currently are in, Sutherland knows that his squad’s going to have to get more from the offensive side of the ball so that so much pressure isn’t constantly being put on the back end.
“We’ve only scored two goals in five games so, without a doubt, scoring’s an issue for us right now,” Sutherland said. “We only really had one chance today, albeit a good one. And when we only have one or two chances we have to take advantage of them because not too many have come along. Their keeper made a good save today but at some point we’re going to have to do something to turn the offense around and work our way out of this. The boys are working hard to try to put the ball in the back of the net, but, as we saw today, our biggest problem is trying to hold onto the ball and create chances right now. We’re not keeping the ball long enough to create chances and not doing that makes it tough to get good keepers under pressure and score.”
The Rams will look to bounce back and notch their first win of the season on Thursday at 4 p.m. when they take on Trinity Catholic at Conner Field.
Nice article about the Rams boys soccer match against Darien. I want to point out that the Rams goal against Brien McMann was scored by Álvaro Riquelme, an exchange student from Chile (#23). Alvaro is currently out with an injury but hopes to return to contribute to the team soon.