Second Half Heroics Power Boys Soccer Past Pearl River
Kaden Zion and the Rye Garnets Boys Soccer team overcame a second half deficit to claim victory on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Pearl River Pirates 2-1 thanks to two goals in just over ten minutes.
The Garnets outshot Pearl River 12-2 in its third game of the 2024 season, but spent much of the contest trailing. The Pirates struck first on a header off a set piece and took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
Zion went to work in the final 40 minutes. The senior first assisted on Jack Gilroy’s game-tying goal with 25:55 to go before adding one of his own on a penalty kick with just over 15:00 to play.
Head Coach Jared Small spoke on Gilroy’s electrifying tying goal, saying, “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen us score a goal quite like that… [Gilroy’s] finish was emphatic, and it was the first time we were able to get the ball past a fantastic Pearl River goalkeeper.”
Gilroy, Zion, and Rei Nagata combined for a 3-man, 114-yard counterattack that started with a defensive header and ended with the big goal. Only those three players touched the ball for the Garnets over the length of the field.
A great ball from Lex Cox helped set up Zion’s penalty attempt after he was necessarily fouled in the box by a Pirate defender. Kasen Scarperi had the tackle to set the play up, which led to Zion’s fifth goal in three games, and enough for a 2-1 Garnet victory, their third consecutive one-goal win. Rye has 7 goals in those contests, all but two from Zion.
The Garnets will look to make it four in a row when they travel to Walter Panas High School over the weekend to take on the Panthers. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00pm on Saturday, September 14. Watch it here. Watch the victory over Pearl River here.
