‘What a Night’: Rye Boys Soccer Victorious on Senior Night Behind Zion’s Hat Trick
Rye Boys Soccer moved to 11-3 on the year on Tuesday night, defeating the Pelham Pelicans 4-2 in comeback fashion on their annual senior night. The team and Kaden Zion continue to roll – the senior forward potted a hat trick, including a clutch game-winning goal, to create an unforgettable night for the Garnets.
“What a night.” Head Coach Jared Small told MyRye.com in his postgame report. “We were electric in the second half – especially the final 20 minutes.”
Rye struck first on an 8th-minute goal from Zion off a Peter Wilmot corner kick. However, that was the Garnets’ only scoring of the first half, and Pelham went into the break with a 2-1 lead. “We played well throughout, but struggled to limit the set pieces against in the first half and the opponent did a nice job of capitalizing on those opportunities,” Small said.
In the second half, backed by a great crowd at Nugent Stadium, the Garnets struck three consecutive times. Small credited the big momentum shift to a personnel change early in the frame: “The momentum truly began to change when [senior] Luca “Ducky” Zambianchi entered the match in the 52nd minute and immediately served a cultured ball into the box that was just out of the reach of Lex Cox.” Despite the duo not connecting, the play began to make Pelham feel vulnerable, and Rye smelled blood.
Soon after, Kasen Scarperi buried a low shot to tie the game, with Wilmot picking up his second assist. Rye’s offense was far from done, and the stage was set for an electric senior connection in the final ten minutes.
“There is no doubt about the moment of the match,” Small told MyRye.com. “Senior Charlie Cosenza entered with the game tied 2-2 in the 72nd minute, immediately won a header on a Pelham goal kick, positioned himself perfectly on the left wing, tracked down a brilliant through ball from Kasen Scarperi, served a one-time left footed cross on a dime to Kaden Zion, who headed home what proved to be the game winner. The crowd and our bench went wild, and it really couldn’t have been scripted any better.”
Cosenza is not a regular on the scoresheet for Rye, but he made a memorable play in his final regular season home game as a Garnet to set up Zion.
It took less than a minute for Rye to pounce again, as Zion completed the hat trick after receiving a crafty through ball from Scarperi. Senior forward Liam Harrington won a contested header at midfield to set up the insurance tally and put the game well out of reach with just under seven minutes to go.
In the end, all 14 seniors on the Garnets’ roster saw time on the field during the game. This includes senior goalkeepers Aydan Breen and Martin Fields, who split the game. Fields did not allow a goal in the second half to earn the win. Small shouted out his veterans, saying they were “instrumental in the huge come from behind win.”
Rye (11-3) has one more regular season game left on the schedule – a road tilt this Saturday (10/19) at Harrison. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:00pm, as the Garnets will look to cap off an incredible regular season with a second win vs the Huskies. Watch the comeback victory against Pelham here.
2024 Rye Boys Varsity Soccer Senior Class
#1 GK Aydan Breen
#3 D Zac Ramsey
#5 MF Karol Mendoza
#6 D Jack Gilroy
#7 F Liam Harrington
#11 D Alex van der Voort
#12 F Kaden Zion
#15 MF Jeremy Ruddy
#16 F Andrew Chun
#19 D Charlie Cosenza
#21 F Fin Kearney
#25 D Tadhg O’Brien
#29 F Luca Zambianchi
#32 GK Martin Fields
