Boys Soccer Starts October with Shutout Over Harrison
The Rye Boys Varsity Soccer Team came away with another positive result on Tuesday evening, defeating the Harrison Huskies 1-0 at Nugent Stadium. Felix Wismer scored the only goal in the game in the dying seconds of the first half, and a strong defensive performance in the second half guided Rye to the close win.
It was a combination of Peter Wilmot, Kasen Scarperi, Kaden Zion, a ball boy, and eventually Felix Wismer that led to the Garnets’ goal. Wilmot had a steal with 30 seconds to go in the first half, Scarperi found Zion, whose pass went out of bounds and led to a corner kick. A ballboy rushed Zion a ball, and Zion quickly served a kick into the box, where it bounced off a Harrison defender, off Wismer’s head, and across the goal line with just over one second on the clock. The electric buzzer-beating goal stood up as the game-winner.
Ayden Breen made it stand up in goal, aided by a back line of Zac Ramsey, Jack Gilroy, Harrison Zimmer, and Lex Cox, and midfielders Scarperi, Alex van der Voort, Karol Mendoza, and Shun Nagata. Even Eddie Kehoe provided a spark for the Garnets in his 14 minutes of play, helping Rye regain some momentum after Harrison came out strong in the second half.
“It was one of those night where everything went right for us,” Head Coach Jared Small told MyRye.com after the game. “We knew it would be a battle against a top-class opponent, and we got exactly what we expected. I was really proud of our commitment to the tactics, our determination to win every matchup we could, and most importantly, the way we wore the pink kits with fierce pride.”
As per a tradition spanning almost two decades, and encompassing more than just high school soccer, Rye donned sleek pink uniforms for their first game of October. The team, as well as Rye Youth Soccer teams of all ages, will continue to wear the pink kits throughout the month in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. See what Small said of the tradition in his postgame report:
“Rye sported a fresh new pink kit – with the “Play for Hope” slogan and iconic Pink ribbon in script across the front – in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. This tradition dates back more than 15 years and was started by a longtime Rye soccer family who, over the years, donated thousands of pink uniforms to players from Rye, Yonkers, and College of the Holy Cross. Today’s kits were donated by other Rye families who have taken the torch and continued the tradition. After a special pre-match presentation from a team mother who has battled breast cancer, the team played with an extra gear of grit, determination, and spirit.”
“Everyone brought their ‘A game’ tonight, from our stand-in assistant coach HP to our ball boys to our players,” Small continued. “It was a great night for Rye soccer, and I know I’ll cherish the memories from tonight for a long time.”
The Garnets (9-2) have the rest of the week off, as they next play against Eastchester on Monday, October 7. Start time is set for 5:00pm at Nugent Stadium. Watch it here. Watch the win vs. Harrison here.
