Arias, O’Hara star in Rockets playoff win

With a trip to the “Gold Medal” round on the line, the (3-4-1) Rockets faced off against the (3-5) Comets in a JCC of Bayonne Sr. Division Indoor Soccer playoff bout. Mired in a defensive slugfest, it took a bizarre pingpong ricochet shot by the Comets’ Dylan Subacz to ignite the scoreboard. Down 1-0, the Rockets’ dynamic duo of Thomas Arias and Kyle O’Hara grabbed the reins as O’Hara assisted Arias on a game tying dart. The Rockets kept the pressure on as Arias netted his second goal off a Comets’ defensive miscue making it 2-1, Rockets. With their defense on their heels, the Comets fell prey to another blow from the Arais-O’Hara tandem as O’Hara booted the Rockets out to a 3-1 advantage. Loading up on defense to protect their 2 goal lead, the Rockets’ Emya Irwin and Nicholas De Pinto stifled the Comets’ offense for over fifteen minutes. Brawling for every possession, the Comet’s Mariam Rasslan and Alejandro Cifuentes unleashed pinpoint passes up court to setup Dylan Subacz’s second goal off an assist by Aaliyana Cifuentes. With only five minutes remaining and trailing 3-2, the Comets surged with a flurry of net jarring bolts that pinballed off the post but inspite of their Herculean effort the Comets couldn’t overcome the Rockets iron will as the Rockets prevailed 3-2.

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