John Jay soccer makes short work of Yorktown

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - With a league championship and a bye into the sectionals, second-seeded John Jay welcomed Yorktown to Contest Field on Tuesday, Oct. 27. A near miss by Maye Viders and Abby Mattielo dismissed any notions of rust, and the well-oiled Wolves machine soon proved the point on the scoreboard.

Viders opened the scoring early, and the rest of the team followed in a 3-1 victory.

The Wolves came out firing. Mattielo got free on the right sideline, and with a little space, her cross just eluded the head of Viders.

No problem. The duo wasn’t done. First, Dillon Hall stopped a Yorktown clear, Viders settled the rebound, and Mattielo raced to the corner with the ball. She then centered to Viders between three defenders, and Viders emerged with a clear look at the wide-open right side of the net. Her hook landed inside the post, and Jay led 1-0 at 34:35.

John Jay wasn’t going anywhere, either. The girls maintained consistent pressure until Viders and Mattielo switched places 11 minutes later. Viders settled the throw-in at midfield, cut through two Yorktown defenders and smoothly led Mattielo 20 yards ahead.

On the left, the attacker cut to the middle and then took a two-step move to the outside. Leaving two more defenders behind, she left the goalie to pick up the pieces. Not a chance. Mattielo found the same right corner, and John Jay led 2-0 at 22:51.

The margin loomed large, with plenty more offense serving as defense and a back line that shut down nearly every Husker incursion. The visitors did test Evelyn Hermanto and the defense with 11 minutes left in the half.

Off a throw-in, the ball bounced in deep and under ran Gabby Luis. She lofted it left, and the curving shot sent Hermanto's eyes skyward. Tracking it well, the goalie went high and knocked the ball away.

The Wolves continued to toy with their prey and essentially wrote the final chapter with 20 minutes left in the game. Mattielo knocked in another, and by the time Yorktown scored with 10 minutes remaining, John Jay was ready to move on.