McComb’s Heroics Advance Comets

The (4-3-1) Sonics and the (3-5) Comets of the Jewish Community Center of Bayonne Indoor Soccer Sr. Division met in the Championship Tournament. The Sonics and Comets have locked horns four times in the regular season, with the Sonics winning in three of four meetings. The teams’ game plans quickly surfaced with Kevin Aguilar, James Johnson, Brandon Ferreira, and Tyler Cholankeril stonewalling the Sonics’ defensive zone, while the ironclad front of the Comets held the ranks with Drew Radil, Joshua Verzosa, Natallyah Teixeira, and Elliott Santana on guard. For 40 minutes, both squads squared off in a toe-to-toe battle of wills resulting in a 0-0 deadlock. Both teams had their chances to get on the board, but even the Sonics’ wily scoring duo of Ryan Ballance and Chloe Gregory were kept at bay. The overtime shootout started with a bang as the Sonics’ James Johnson and the Comets’ James Bajor railed in goals. Three boots into O.T., the Sonics took a 2-1 lead when Shashwat Punjani blistered a shot to net. After a brief calming of the storm, the Sonics’ Tyler Cholankeril gave his squad a commanding 3-1 advantage as the Comets found themselves down by two with just two shots remaining. The Comets’ next shooter was Alexandro Gonzalez, the league’s leading scorer. Gonzalez did not disappoint as his net-jet made it a 3-2 bout. Still needing one more goal to force a sudden death second overtime, the Comets called on Michael Lago who answered with his first goal of the season to rescue the Comets from the brink of elimination. Tight gripped at 3 all, both teams came up empty on their first three attempts until the Comets’ Allen McComb rammed in the game-winning goal, lifting his exhilarated comrades into the championship round with a dramatic 4-3 double overtime victory.

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