After an impressive 6-1 victory in their season opener, the Rockets (1-0) turned their attention to taking on the Sonics as the Jewish Community Center of Bayonne’s Indoor Soccer Senior Division launched into its 2013 campaign. The first 15 minutes stayed scoreless until the Sonics’ Shashwat Punjani blasted in a goal off an assist by Kevin Aguilar. Trailing 1-0, the Rockets’ defense clamped down as Chris Shaw, Meghann Mock, Hailey Bouillon and Mackenzie Woods kept the Sonics’ sharp-shooters at bay. Equaling the Rockets’ defensive manpower, the Sonics’ James Johnson, Chloe Gregory and Brandon Ferreira held the high-powered Rockets’ offense scoreless for most of the bout. While the defenses locked horns, the Sonics’ offense found a way to stretch their lead to 2-0 as Ajay Lal slipped a pass to Tyler Cholankeril, who drilled the ball to net.
Suddenly down 2-zip, the Rockets caught a break when Colin Woods’ aggressive play forced the Sonics’ sweeper to lose control of the ball and send it into the Sonics’ net, making it 2-1, Sonics. Back in the hunt, the Rockets once again turned a Sonics’ miscue into points as Madison Neal Markowski ricocheted an inbounding attempt back into the Sonics’ net to knot the game at 2-all. As the game raced toward overtime, both teams stayed on track, hoping for a regulation win. With zero time remaining, the move paid off for the Sonics as Ryan Ballance battled the ball to Shashwat Punjani, who stunned the Rockets with a game-winning howitzer shot as the Sonics downed the Rockets, 3-2.
The Senior Division Players of the Week for week one were: Offensive Player of the Week – Madison Neal Markowski, Rockets; Defensive Player of the Week – Chris Shaw, Rockets; Teamwork/Leadership Player of the Week – Shashwat Punjani, Sonics.