The opening minutes of the match were frightful, but Sachem goalkeeper Griffin Burkey was delightful. The flaxen-haired handballer made his most difficult save in the fifth minute – a full-extension dive to his left to keep the Crusaders off the scoreboard amidst a rare barrage of corner kicks.
BMOP (big man on pitch) Eric Rolfs deputized for centerback Philip Woolston, whose thigh injury early on left the Sachems grateful for their new quality and depth in the back – John Driscoll and Colin Hickey manning their outside back battle stations with pace, composure and class. The Sachems backs, along with great effort from the midfield, kept the visiting team to just a handful of opportunities throughout the rest of the match.
With much anticipation, the home side surged forward to end the first half, building to a crescendo that never fully reached a climax, sure goals from Michael Haley, Ethan Sweeting and Ben Beyer all saved well by the keeper.
Sachems continued their bubbling attack with new wide men Charlie Booth and Elliott Rippe shredding the Crusaders into the corners and slicing well-timed crossed in for strikers Beyer, Haley, Sweeting, Yoav Barkai and Patrick Foley.
The Sachems maintained possession for nearly all of the second half, in sum creating more than 30 attacking opportunities and more than 20 shots for the match. But the home side was growingly frustrated by brilliant Crusader keepers and by its own mistaken shots.
But five minutes from time, left midfielder Bennett Parsons – playing with aching, injured feet – dissected the Crusader rearguard, firing the winner in from nine yards to enormous elation from players, parents and coaches all.
Rippe and Booth immediately sitting in with the backs and all Sachem hands on deck, the lead was preserved and the home side earned a very hard-fought 1-0 victory. The Sachems are now 3-0 and have not allowed a goal in 165 minutes (the lone goal coming 15 minutes into their first match).
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