Somers soccer tops John Jay on Senior Night

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Somers hosted John Jay, and winning the cross-town rivalry game seemed like the perfect way to celebrate Senior Night. But the guests didn’t oblige at first, taking a 1–0 lead into the second half. Then Somers found its spark.

“I don’t start. So when I get in, I give 120 percent, and as long as you try hard, things will come,” said James Brinn after scoring both goals in the Tuskers’ 2–1 win.

The game opened with John Jay creating most of the early chances, and the odds paid off at 28:31 when Somers was called for a foul. Finn Fothergill converted the penalty kick to give the Wolves a 1–0 lead.

John Jay nearly doubled that advantage three minutes later. Yesbin Cruz centered from the sideline to an open Porter Bysshe, but his deflection went wide.

Somers began to show life when Eduardo Ruiz’s long kick downfield set up a corner kick with 19:45 left in the half. Trevor Keimig’s short pass was returned to him, and he sent the ball into the crease, where it remained dangerously loose until John Jay finally cleared it.

Two minutes later, Somers nearly broke through again. Off a header from Ruiz into the John Jay zone, Milan Sath appeared to find Keimig for a perfect pass, but the play was called offside.

Somers continued pressing, only to be repeatedly stopped by Jeremy Walerys in the John Jay backfield. With his size and awareness, the defender broke up numerous Tusker attacks. “He’s a really solid center back,” Brinn agreed.

Still, Somers’ depth began to show. “We sub so much that we always have fresh legs,” Brinn said. “So it’s hard to keep up with all these players.”

The second half proved his point. After Ben Baran secured a one-hopper at 38:45, momentum shifted. With Walerys holding the ball at midfield, Brinn used his energy to force a turnover and lifted the ball forward.

In breakaway mode, Brinn went stride-for-stride with Walerys — and won. “I outworked him,” said Brinn, leaving only goalie Marc Fein to beat. The Wolf keeper came out, but Brinn slipped the ball past him at 34:23 to tie the game.

Walerys responded moments later, clearing danger in the corner and sending the Wolves back on the attack. Ryan Ramirez gained possession and attempted a lateral pass that missed its mark. Sheldon Connor slid into the cross to stop the play — standard procedure, according to teammate Daniel Semenza. “Sheldon cleans up everything,” the junior said.

Moments later, Nick Goncalves made an equally strong play in the corner. Dennis Galvan had possession, but the Tusker defender refused to give ground, stealing the ball with little room to spare.

John Jay continued to press. When the ball came loose at midfield, Galvan recovered and sent it ahead to Ramirez, who created space and fed Fothergill — but Baran got there first at 25:21.

The Somers defense stayed sharp. Braeden Gibson made a sliding stop on the sideline, and Baran came up big again, diving to save Alejandro Pineda’s tricky one-hopper.

With 23 minutes left, the Tuskers’ offense took over. Contreras secured the sideline and threaded a pass ahead to Milan Sath — just offside.

Moments later, the same pairing connected again. Contreras intercepted a Walerys pass at midfield and sent it ahead to Brinn. Chasing down the lead ball, Brinn made a quick move on the defender and found Sath. The two executed a perfect give-and-go, putting Brinn face-to-face with Fein. This time, there was no stopping him. “Milan gave me a perfect ball,” said the senior.

Even so, teammate Harper Ritson couldn’t help but credit Brinn’s brilliance. “He dribbled by multiple bodies and their main defender,” said Ritson. “It was such a performance, and it’s an honor to play with him.”

The Somers defense held firm the rest of the way. Baran, who anchored the back line with several key saves, praised his teammates afterward. “I got a lot of great players in front of me,” he concluded.