Somers soccer takes down Pelham in section semifinals

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Friday, Oct. 30, the Somers Tuskers took their circus on the road again, and for the third time, they put on quite a show. A 2-0 first-half lead really made the point. But the third-seeded Pelicans fought back and took a 3-2 lead with four minutes left in the game. After a good run, the Tuskers appeared headed for elimination.

Aurora Riley scored with less than a minute remaining, and then, in the final minute of the second overtime, she sent the Tuskers to the finals.

Long before that, Somers got right down to business. Natalie D’Ippolito kicked long from midfield, and the Tuskers ended up with a corner kick. On the ensuing play, Ashley Kuchinsky let the ball slide off the back of her head and into the goal.

Five minutes in, Somers wasn't content. Caitlin Fitts pushed the ball left at 29 minutes, and Amelia Marcus banged a shot off the right post.

No problem. Somers let patience show the way about a minute later. The girls kicked the ball back and forth around midfield until Marcus spotted Riley on the run. With a perfect pass, the senior hit the inside of the post, and the 2-0 lead made this major upset in the making look easy.

Of course, Pelham wouldn't oblige. First, the Pelicans put a header on Olivia Tatela, then sent the Somers goalie airborne for a two-handed save and still refused to leave the area. From the middle, Olivia Parker passed right to an open Katie Cronin, who cut back around a Somers defender and beat Tatela in the right corner at 23 minutes.

With a pep in their step, Pelham pressed on, but Kuchinsky didn't lose any steam. On the right sideline, Kuchinsky employed a slide tackle to shut down the play and even came up with the ball.

Back and forth nonetheless, Riley lofted one deep, but Pelham had a couple of steps on the Somers attacker. The ball went back toward the goalie, but the pass wasn't hard enough, and D’Ippolito went on a collision course with the last defender. Bodies flew, and Pelham survived the scare.

With 11 minutes to go, Somers looked like it would at least take a lead into the second half. Off a throw-in with 40 seconds remaining, Kuchinsky headed the ball twice in front, and all seemed OK. Not good enough. Cronin came down with the ball and hooked a shot past Tatela.

Somers came out firing anyway. With a little help to start, a defensive clear rolled untouched through both teams and landed at the foot of Marcus. Unfortunately, a step wasn't enough, because the Pelham defense was able to run the Tusker down.

Pelham did almost the exact same thing moments later. Only the lead pass turned into an offside call, and the status quo remained.

No such problem for the Tuskers at 36 minutes. Ava Kovalyk picked up a sideline pass in stride, and her nudge inside allowed D’Ippolito to run down the ball for a shot on the right. Not quite. The Pelham goalie got a hand on it, and the ball rolled past the left post.

Somers had to watch a similar roll the other way when a cross pass went untouched through the crease. From there, Kovalyk won the corner, and the collective exhale followed. The same story played out when a Pelham pass sailed through the crease, and Tatela ran into the scrum for the save at 25 minutes.

So the 10th seed took its turn. With the ball moving around midfield again, D’Ippolito spotted the open Tusker and tried to connect on the left. A little long, Marcus chased until crashing to the ground under the goalie.

The goalie's work wasn't done either. This time Riley chased, and the collision left an empty net before the trailing Pelham defense cleared the ball.

Of course, Kuchinsky's defense hadn't left the building. On a long lead into the corner, the Tusker made a sliding tackle from behind, and like before, she came up with the ball.

Moments later, Marcus broke free again. Her pass right created an uproar in the crowd, but the excitement subsided when the ball rolled too long for a D’Ippolito one-on-one with the goalie.

With 12 minutes to go, the teams continued going back and forth until a loose ball scurried between Kuchinsky's legs. With only the goalie in front of the Pelham attacker, Kuchinsky slid from behind to deny the shot, but the well-executed attempt was whistled for a foul.

Cronin converted the penalty kick, and all good things appeared over with less than four minutes to go. A little teamwork said otherwise.

D’Ippolito led a streaking Marcus down the sideline, and even though the angle didn't bode well, it never hurts to be on target. Marcus was, the initial save wasn't covered, and Riley tipped the rebound into the empty net with 55 seconds remaining.

On to overtime, Somers almost put it away in the first session when a Somers clear went untouched and Marcus was the recipient. On the left, her ground ball was met by a kick save and bounced up and over the crossbar.

With hearts soaring and sinking, the deciding goal came in the final minute, too. A beautiful cross from Marcus found Riley, who completed her hat trick with goal No. 3 and sent Somers to the finals against undefeated Rye at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, at Arlington High School.