The #1 Rye Boys Soccer team pulled off a clutch sectional quarterfinal victory on Monday, October 27, as they ekes past Byram Hills 1-0 to advance to the semifinals. Rye had previously lost to the Bobcats 3-0 to mark their only regular season defeat back on September 10, but claimed victory in the match that mattered more at Nugent Stadium to keep their season alive.
“We had massive performances from the entire group, and our mentality was first rate from start to finish,” Head Coach Jared Small told MyRye.com after the win. “We were brilliant on the ball, adept in our hold up play, brave in our duels, and committed to defending their extremely dangerous set pieces. Add to that a gutsy performance from our goalkeeper and you have the ingredients for a big time win.”
The only goal of the game came off the foot of Kasen Scarperi, who buried a chance near the top of the box just seven minutes into the match. Although the best chances throughout the rest of the match generally belonged to the Garnets, they were never able to add an insurance marker to their skinny one goal advantage. The Bobcats’ best look came in the waning minutes of the first half, but Will Alexander made a sparkling kick save. Rye had to withstand a late surge fueled by some long throw-ins, which they were able to do as time expired to preserve the clean sheet.
“The game had all the energy of a sectional semifinal or final,” Small continued. “I cannot remember a quarterfinal match that had this atmosphere.”
The head coach gave props to Alexander and the impact midfielders in front of him for their crucial performance. He cited Shun Nagata, Alex Dodge Terra, and Peter Wilmot for their tenacious play. It took a complete team effort to eliminate the defending league champions once removed and defending finalists in 2024.
The Garnets are halfway done their path towards a sectional title defense, with the tougher 50% still awaiting. Their next foe is Walter Panas on Wednesday, October 29, at 6:00pm at Nugent Stadium. The winner of that semifinals match will earn the right to play for the sectional championship over the coming weekend. Replay the quarterfinals win here.
