On a sweltering Tuesday afternoon, neither the heat—nor the Vikings—were enough to slow down New Rochelle’s boys soccer team, as the Huguenots authored a 2-1 win against a solid Clarkstown South side. But for a young New Rochelle squad, the victory wasn’t nearly half as important as the lessons learned from the early season tilt, ones which the Huguenots should take note of in their inevitable run to the playoffs.
After a scoreless first half, the Huguenots came out with renewed energy in the second, taking the first lead of the game when Moises Pineda deposited the rebound from a shot by Ilyas Souda in the back of the net. With just over 16 minutes to play, Souda was able to extend the lead on a penalty kick opportunity, beating the Vikings keeper with a low shot to the left corner.
Of the team’s inspired play in the beginning of the second half, Souda explained that it simply came down to feeling more comfortable in the flow of the game.
“We didn’t switch anything up, the game plan was the same throughout,” said Souda. “We were just able to execute much better in the second half than we we in the first.”
After jumping out to the 2-0 lead, however, the Huguenots were forced to fend off a furious late-game surge by the Vikings, who were able to pull within a goal before time ran out. New Rochelle head coach Jarohan Garcia said that, for his young team, learning how to navigate the ebbs and flows of a game against a solid opponent like Clarkstown South will be integral to the Huguenots continued success this year.
“We need to get more comfortable with the ball at our feet, I think we did a little too much kicking and chasing, especially early on,” said Garcia. ““Sometimes, especially having that young squad, we tend to do too much too soon, so we need to learn to be patient and give what the defense takes you and go from there.”
Through the first three games of the year, the Huguenots—who reached the Section 1 title game a year ago—are 2-0-1 and will look to continue their strong play on Thursday, after press time, when they take on White Plains. Because of enrollment realignments this year, the Huguenots will be playing in the newly-created Class AAA division, filled with familiar large-school foes—including squads like Mamaroneck and White Plains—although Garcia downplayed the effect that the realignment will have on the team’s goals this year.
“That really doesn’t matter,” said Garcia. “Class AAA, AA, A, anyone can beat anyone on any given day.”
