With the Dragons (2-0) piling up the victories, the Wizards (1-1) and the Knights (0-2) met in a key early-season matchup as they each tried to stay in the hunt as they competed in the Jewish Community Center of Bayonne’s Indoor Soccer Junior Division. Things stayed quiet for most of the first half as both teams played cautiously.
That all changed in a matter of two minutes as the Wizards stormed out to a 2-0 lead. Danny Reyes scored off an assist from Kyle O’Hara, followed by Matt Miceli’s net-quaking penalty shot. As the Knights struggled to manufacture points, the Wizards’ defense held firm as T.J. Wolf, Nate Cintron, Michael Egan, and Victor Mendolaro corralled the Knights’ offense. The Wizards seemed to be zipping along on the road to victory when all of a sudden they sputtered.
The Knights’ Andrew Sprague rocked the nets for two quick goals off assists by Joyce Gabrael and Steven Pereira to knot the fray at 2-all. For the Wizards, the stunning turn of events led to a return to caution, which helped send the game into this season’s first overtime shootout. Both teams started off with three missed shots before the Knights’ Da’Mien Taylor lifted a scoring blast over the outreached hands of the Wizards’ goaltender.
Two shots later, the Knights’ Steven Pereira sealed the overtime victory with his third goal of the season to secure the come-from-behind 4-2 win. The Knights’ Chris Ballance and Harsh Easwar showed some late-game heroics, which sparked their squad’s comeback effort.
The Junior Division Players of the Week for week two were: Offensive Player of the Week – Brayden Cotter, Dragons; Defensive Player of the Week – Harsh Easwar, Knights; Teamwork/Leadership Player of the Week – Kyle O’Hara, Wizards.