Slow Start to a Bold Finish
And so, I sit in front of my computer screen to type my final write-up for the 2022 season. And what a season it's been! Weatherwise, we couldn't have asked for better. Our coldest game was, as usual, the last, but it was a comfortable 53 degrees and sunny this year. Typically, I pack extra blankets so the boys aren't freezing on the bench.
On Wednesday, we traveled to New Hampton School to play our second match with them this year. In our first, we pulled off a 4-2 win, and this victory may have been the reason why we displayed a different intensity against NHS than we had against Exeter. It was probably that and the fact that Ian Surgenor was suffering from some back pain and asked if he could sit out.
Although we were not hustling as well as in the past, we did take shots. My early notes read like this:
34 Corner kick from Dan Pimentel. Finn Bunk's header just missed
32 Devon LeBlanc passes back to Ryder Perry. Ryder, cross to Dan. Dan puts the ball in the net = offsides
30 Dan chip up to Will Sewell – header – deflected by keeper
30 Dan passed to Will. Will turned and shot – just wide
28 NHS gets close. One-on-one with Bleyton Hopps-Thompson.
Finesse shot – wide
26 Ryder to Devon – left foot – over
26 NHS in close – Bleyton – diving save
25 NHS in close – Bleyton – save
Michael Jung, Aiden Bean, Jacob Hebbel, and Tom Huang's defensive squad successfully kept out most drives.
24 Will blasts a long chip up to Devon – shot saved
23 So close – Will tips – keeper deflects – Dan taps – keeper deflected out
22 Throw in – Dan chips to Will – header wide
21 Bleyton save
20 Devon has two shot opportunities – both skyscrapers over the net
19 Simon Nowlin shot outside box with the left foot – save
18 Finn header to Ryder – save
12 Adi Lesbek pass to Angus Spence – shot over
7 Point blank shot from the side – Bleyton saves
6 Ryder pass over to Adi – shot high
5 NHS fast drive up the side.
He sends a chip into the middle. The striker puts the ball into the corner.
So, with five minutes left in the first half, the Huskies took advantage of our failure to put our ball in the net and take the lead. This made Coach and me a little nervous. We'd seen games where one team dominated 79 out of 80 minutes but lost the game because of one successful drive by the opponent. In the final minutes, we saw Adi send another pass to Angus that went high, and Ryder's pass up to Alvaro Olivo resulted in a keeper save. At the end of the first forty minutes, we were down 0-1.
Before the final whistle blew, Coach could see that Ian was frustrated with his place on the bench. He had put his cleats on and moved the ball around behind the bench, clearly testing the pain. Coach said nothing, but he hoped. At the half, he approached Coach and asked if he could go in. He said he was feeling better. It was just the news we were hoping for. We'd been missing his intensity.
So, with the sun in our eyes and forty minutes left in the season, we took the field for the last time. Within the first two minutes, the Huskie keeper saved Alvaro's shot, and the ball Ian sent up to Ryder. It seemed like déjà vu all over again.
However, in the 3rd minute of the half, Simon trapped the ball in the center and passed it up to a rushing Ian, who got control before unleashing a blast into the far corner of the net. Ian had broken the spell, and we were back in the game. Four minutes later, Simon received a NHS goal kick and dribbled toward the top of the box. He then took a shot reminiscent of the one he blasted against Brewster and put us up by one. Then after the keeper saved shots from Alvaro and Will, Simon passed a ball up to Finn, who slid it up to Will. Will faced the goalie and sent a finesse shot to the far post. Only ten minutes into the second half, we were leading 3-1.
New Hampton was not about to concede victory. They kept the attack going, forcing Bleyton to make excellent diving saves. Then at the 25th-minute mark, NHS send a lovely chip into the middle, and their striker was able to get it by Bleyton. Eight minutes later, we fouled NHS inside the box, and they earned a penalty kick. This did not look good and was an opportunity for the Huskies to tie things up. Bleyton was ready, anticipated the shot well, and made the save! This play had two effects: it reinvigorated us as much as it deflated them. One minute later, Devon sent a cross close to the post, and Ryder shot and scored. It was 4-1.
Now I will pause the action to mention a couple of players. Mikey Winham played exceptionally well in the game. All year his throw-ins have caught the defense off guard, and it was no different in this game. He tossed the ball over the NHS defensive line and into our forwards. His hustle and Matt Fussteig kept the balls in our control before they sent them up to the strikers. In addition, Cho Man Bian, Eric Chung, and Seb Keen were relentless on our defensive end. These three consistently honed their skills throughout the season and helped produce a solid, unwavering back wall. It is not surprising that we gave up only one goal by the end of the game.
With six minutes left in play, Finn passed a ball up to an awaiting Alvaro. Alvaro took a shot from the side and put it in. In the final minutes, Will crashed the net, Matt took a shot, and Will sent a header in from Dan's corner kick, but the Huskie goalkeeper was always there to thwart our attempts. Slowly the call came in from the bench, "Pass it to Dan!" They wanted senior Dan Pimentel to score in his last game. He took two shots on the net, the keeper grabbed both.
New Hampton kept the pressure on, but senior Tom Huang was not about to reserve any of his last bits of vigor on the field. Someone on the bench exclaimed, "Tom is a freight train!" Tom and senior Jacob Hebbel were going to enjoy every last moment of defending our end.
Then with maybe thirty seconds left in the game, the bench yelled to Aiden Bean to leave the defensive line and venture into striker territory. He did. Suddenly, Ian received the ball and passed it to him. Aiden took his first-ever shot on the net…and scored!! It was exciting.
It is a testament to the talents of this team that each of the six goals we scored in the final forty minutes were earned by a different player. We had broad talent this year on all three lines. Coach and I were confident that no matter who was playing, we knew we didn't have a weak spot on the field. We could switch entire lines and know we still had the best line on the field.
All-in-all, it proved to be an exciting match. We took a lot of shots, and the NHS keeper saved a lot of shots. We look forward to returning next fall for another fun afternoon.
A few final notes on the 2022-2023 season:
Record: 7-4-3 (career record 2008 to 2022: 104-68-21) (season wins: 11-4)
Goals: 36-32 (career goal record: 524-346)
Goals scored:
Alvaro Oliva ‘25 = 8
Ian Surgenor ‘25 = 8
Will Sewell ‘23 = 7
Ryder Perry ‘26 = 6
Simon Nowlin ‘25 = 4
Finn Bunk ’25 = 2
Aiden Bean ‘25 = 1
