Tuskers overpower Pearl River in quarterfinals

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Wednesday, May 27, Somers hosted Pearl River in the sectional quarterfinals, and the Tuskers showed no signs of being slowed by the Pirates’ late arrival.

“We really showed up today,” said Dylan Jimenez, though the final score proved that to be an understatement.

Somers jumped out to a 12-1 lead and cruised to a 21-6 victory.

Pearl River actually won the opening draw, but the small victory was short-lived. The Pirates quickly turned the ball over, and Bret Kennedy started the first Somers surge. The long stick found Kieran Picco, who set up Xander DiPasquale one-on-one with the Pearl River goalie. Cutting in from the left, DiPasquale leapt off one foot and buried an overhand shot for a 1-0 lead with 11:10 remaining in the first quarter.

Pearl River won the next draw as well, but Somers forced a shot clock violation, and the Tuskers quickly went back on the attack. Jimenez swept right from the wing to the goal line and scored easily to make it 2-0.

At the 9:13 mark, Somers earned possession again, though a pair of Pearl River saves briefly slowed the momentum. It didn’t last long. The Tusker transition defense kept the Pirates pinned in their own zone, and Kennedy sparked another opportunity. He fed DiPasquale on the left side, and the junior slipped an underhand shot into the net with 7:45 left in the quarter.

Leading 3-0, Somers kept rolling. Mason Beresford scooped up his own ground ball before Tristan Iglesias took a pass on the left side and ripped a shot through traffic for another goal.

Pearl River finally tested goalie Hudson Ruby at 6:57, but the Tusker netminder came up with a big save on a wraparound attempt. Moments later, Cam Violante found space in front of the cage and extended the lead to 5-0 with 4:43 remaining.

After both goalies traded saves, only Somers capitalized. A loose ball in front found DiPasquale, whose quick finish stretched the advantage to 6-0.

Pearl River finally broke through after winning the next draw, scoring from the left side to close the first-quarter scoring.

Any thought of momentum shifting disappeared quickly in the second quarter. Somers opened with more stifling defense, forcing another shot clock violation before DiPasquale connected with George Sullivan streaking downfield for a goal that made it 7-1.

With 9:03 left in the half, the defense delivered again, forcing yet another violation. DiPasquale then set up Iglesias, pushing the lead to 8-1 with 7:27 remaining.

Just 45 seconds later, Jayden Newman scored, and Ruby immediately helped ignite another transition opportunity. After making the save, the goalie launched an outlet pass to Dean Monachelli, who found DiPasquale in stride before Liam Barrett finished the play at 5:26.

Already holding a commanding lead, Somers triggered the running clock early in the third quarter when Holden Brelesky added another goal.

The Tuskers also enjoyed a memorable family moment late in the game.

“I never thought I’d get the chance to play with him,” Dylan Jimenez said of his younger brother Brady.

An eighth grader recently called up from JV, Brady Jimenez made the most of his opportunity.

“I got the ball from Dean (Antonucci) and just put it on the net,” he said.

Antonucci enjoyed sharing the moment with his longtime teammate.

“We had a play on JV that we scored on a bunch of times, and now we did it on the varsity level,” said the sophomore.

Antonucci later assisted Jimmy Truitt for the game’s final goal, and with the decisive win, the Tuskers advanced comfortably to the sectional semifinals.