SHRUB OAK – Logan Matthews had convinced himself, with no uncertainty, that he was going to win the game for his team. He envisioned it, determined in his mind how he would strike the ball and the trajectory it would take, and how meaningful it would be for John Jay-East Fishkill.
And then he missed his mark.
“Yeah,” the senior said with a chuckle, “I had intended for it to go more toward the center.”
His shot being off a bit will be a footnote in the story of the Patriots’ season and, for him, made the moment even sweeter.
Because the keeper dove toward the center of the goal while Matthews’ shot hooked a few feet to the left, going just behind the goalie and into the net. Off-target, but on the money.
That kick completed for John Jay a rally from behind in a nail-biting round of penalty kicks, which followed a rally from behind in a nail-biting match to edge New Rochelle, 1-1 (4-3), in the Section 1 Class AAA final.
By virtue of them being tied through two overtimes, the teams earned a share of the championship, but the second-seeded Patriots advance beyond the section for the first time since 2014.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Matthews said Nov. 2. “We’ve been a solid team, but trying to get over the top was a struggle. We finally put it all together, and we freaking won!”
Longtime coach Rob Seipp, who led the Patriots to a state title in 2000, now begins the pursuit of another alongside his son, senior Austin Seipp. That, of course, made an incredible triumph even more sentimental for them.
“Being co-champions is something the boys should be proud of,” said New Rochelle coach Jarohan Garcia, whose team got its first title since 2016. “They earned that, along with John Jay, through 110 minutes of incredible play. Both teams were good enough to compete in the (state) tournament, but John Jay deserved to advance. I have nothing but respect for that program.”
New Rochelle went up 3-1 in penalty kicks, but Nick Naso made diving stops on the Huguenots’ two potential clinching shots, and John Jay delivered under pressure. Lucas Riverso, Sean Viebrock and Justin Ortiz each tallied, preceding Matthews’ winner.
“It’s amazing!” Naso said. “We had our backs against the wall, and we had to make it happen under pressure.”
Next up
John Jay (14-2-2) advances to face Section 9’s Kingston or Newburgh in a subregional Wednesday at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park.
Takeaways
Angel Magana scored a minute into the second half for New Rochelle, but Ortiz answered with 30:53 remaining. The junior took a pass from Seipp up the left flank and lined a shot into the near corner.
The top-seeded Huguenots (14-2-2) controlled possession for most of the half, and the two overtimes, but center back Uriel Botchway anchored a defense with Michael Versace and Justin Brancamp that staved them off and nullified several quality runs.
Naso made eight saves, including two in overtime and the two in penalty kicks that kept their season alive.
“It means everything,” he said. “John Jay hasn’t accomplished this in a while, and we wanted to restore the glory days.”
Jero Velasquez was spectacular for New Rochelle, the all-state star making six saves and scoring in the round of PKs. Several of the Huguenots were understandably inconsolable afterwards.
Player of the Game
Ortiz twice breathed life into the Patriots, tying the score in regulation and then delivering a liner into the left corner that tied it at 3 in penalty kicks.
They said it
“The players are disappointed,” Garcia said of his Huguenots. “Getting to regionals was one of our goals, and we fell short. But going to (penalty kicks) against a great opponent and being co-champions is an accomplishment. We’ll celebrate the things we did that got us to this point.”
“We unlocked something in our offense in the second half of the season,” Naso said of a late-season hot streak that included a win over New Rochelle to clinch the No. 2 seed. “ “Our finishing has gotten so much better, and guys like Justin, Sean, Austin and Lucas Riverso have been great.”
“It was a tough situation because New Rochelle has a fantastic goalkeeper, but I still believed we were gonna do it,” Rob Seipp said. “We’ve worked a lot on PKs and we have a lot of faith in our goalies… This is a special group and I’m honored to be part of it.”
Stephen Haynes covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: John Jay rallies over New Rochelle in PKs to win first boys soccer title since 2014
Reporting by Stephen Haynes, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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