FTC MEN'S SOCCER NOTCHES BIG WIN OVER NCAA TEAM
Five Towns College Defeats SUNY Maritime, 2-0.
By Sydney Mountain
On September 17th, the Five Towns College Men’s Soccer team made history in its first victory over an NCAA opponent in program history. After attempting to reach this milestone before without success, this win means more to the team. With goals coming from right midfielder James Habert on a penalty kick, and forward Angel Chavez, the team took a 2-0 victory in a well-fought battle against SUNY Maritime.
After the victory, Head Coach Jason Fiscina said, "Our game plan was to dominate possession. For us to play our brand of soccer, we must have the ball. Lastly, we needed to negate their speed up top and win 50/50s in our defensive half."
Fiscina’s defensive line did exactly that. Both center defenders, Sebastian Montenegro and Sebastian Gomez, were dominant in controlling the 50/50 or loose balls whenever possible. The outside defenders, Andy Alfonso and Anthony Molina contained the forwards of Maritime to the outside and denied anything that came their way. The great defensive play by the Sound ended in a shutout for goalkeeper Steven Paguada. Paguada also made two huge saves at the end of the first half to keep the game tied at 0-0 going into the break.
At the 56 minute mark, the tie was broken. A goal kick was awarded to the Sound, and they took advantage. Paguada drove the ball to a wide-open William Rivera at mid-field, who gave a quick head pass to Angel Chavez. Chavez quickly tracked down the ball and was in a foot race with the Maritime defender, who ultimately tripped Chavez in the box, awarding the Sound a penalty kick.