After five weeks of twists and turns, the Rockets (3-3-1) and the Sonics (3-2-1) took center stage to decide who would own the top spot in the Jewish Community Center of Bayonne’s Indoor Soccer Senior Division Championship Tournament. Both teams laid claim to being the frontrunner, but a victory by either team would have sealed the deal and broken the deadlock.
The game started out with the Sonics’ Shashwat Punjani, Chloe Gregory, and James Johnson storming the Rockets’ zone. But Chris Shaw, Meghann Mock and the ever-reliable Madison Neal Markowski squelched the Sonics’ scoring drives time and time again. The Rockets’ defensive mindset did give way to a second half score-driven stampede as Colin Woods, Hailey Bouillon, Kaitlin Morrell and Mackenzie Woods unleashed a boatload of shots on net.
In spite of both teams’ best offensive efforts, defense ruled the day and when the Sonics’ Kevin Aguilar, Brandon Ferreira, and James Johnson weathered the Rockets’ last-minute offensive barrage, the stage was set for the teams’ second overtime shootout. With the chips all in, both teams took their best shots at each other’s nets but once again, it was the Rockets’ white knight and defensive cornerstone who settled the brawl. Meghann Mock drilled the game-winning dart as the Rockets emerged with a 1-0 overtime win.