Bobcats’ State Title Hopes Dashed in an Overtime Thriller
late in Saturday’s state semifinal playoff game vs. Greece Athena.
By Monica D’Ippolito
After 80 minutes of regulation play and nearly 10 more in pressure-packed overtime, Byram Hills and Greece Athena were still knotted at a goal apiece early Saturday afternoon. In an instant, though, that would change, leaving the Section 5 champion Trojans delirious and the Bobcats in despair.
The Trojans had managed to survive two big scoring chances by the Bobcats earlier in the overtime when they suddenly caught Byram Hills on its heels, playing a ball toward the sideline that eventually found striker Zach Koons open at the top of the box. Koons then hit a shot on frame that snuck in for the game’s golden goal.
“I think it was a matter of a little bit of ball watching,” said Bobcats senior defender Payton Levine about the game-winning goal. “When the ball went out wide, we got caught looking at it instead of picking up guys at the top of the box.”
With that, the Bobcats’ 12-game winning streak and state title hopes were finished. The goal by Koons gave Greece Athena a 2-1 victory in the New York State Class A semifinal at sunny, but cold, Faller Field in Middletown.
“I told them that if this game is the worst thing that was going to happen to them in their lives, they’ve lived glorious lives,” said Byram Hills coach Matt Allen shortly after his bid for a second state title had come to a crushing end. “I think we played real hard and we played real tough. A lot of guys came off the bench, played solid. I know it was a 50-50 game, could have gone either way. They closed it and we didn’t.”
After a scoreless first half, the Bobcats, who ended their season with a 17-6 record despite a 5-5 start, took the lead in the 44th minute. Yianni Lambos played a lofted cross into the box that Greece Athena was unable to clear cleanly. Brandon Drossman found the loose ball and neatly placed his shot far post for the score.
But the Byram Hills lead was short-lived. Just five minutes later, the Trojans’ Zach Mirguet received the ball at the top of the box. With enough space, he took a touch and ripped it toward the far post, enabling Athena, which went on to capture the state title 24 hours later, to tie the game at 1-1.
“We’ve been in 1-1 situations before,” said Allen. “Obviously any goal is going to turn the momentum, but I don’t think that was the game. I mean, for 30 minutes we played pretty solid after that. But (Mirguet) scored a great goal and not much we can do there.”
Bobcat goalkeeper Matt Groll aggressively came out from in front of the net all game and cleared away numerous long balls and crosses. He made a big save with 22 minutes left in the half when a through ball sneaked past the back line, which would have created a breakaway for striker Jason Siracuse. But Groll once again stopped the threat by stepping out and kicking away the dangerous pass just in time.
The theme of the match was its physical play, with the referees choosing not to call much contact throughout the game. In the final two minutes of regulation came a controversial non-call in the box when Greece Athena’s Carlos Rodriguez had a hard slide-tackle on Brandon Drossman an instant before the Bobcat senior could send a point-blank shot past Trojan keeper Tyler Graves. The call could have gone either way, but the referees decided to let play go on.
“I mean, I expected that,” said Allen. “You’re in the final four and you’re dealing with two competitive teams, and so I think the physical play, we’re used to it from Section 1. But I don’t think the refs had any influence on the game, to be honest.”
Barely 15 seconds into the first of two 15-minute, sudden-death overtime sessions, the Bobcats’ Bennett Kramer had an opportunity to score an immediate golden goal. But his blistering shot sailed just over the crossbar to the disappointment of the vocal Byram Hills student cheering section that braved the cold temperature to root for the Bobcats.
“Bennett gets a nice strong shot on goal, we’d love for him to keep it low,” Allen said. “Fired his shot as hard as he could, like to say the wind took it up in the air.”
In the game’s 87th minute, the Bobcats got another huge opportunity for the winner as Matt Berger had a breakaway along the right side of the field. But he was unable to poke the ball past Graves, who came out to meet him and made a game-saving stop.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, that would be their final hurrah of a dazzling season. Just two minutes later, Koons buried the Trojans’ only dangerous scoring chance of the overtime as his shot took a last-second bounce in front of Groll and snuck into the back of the net. As the giddy Trojans began their celebration around him, Groll, in disbelief and dejection, lay face down and motionless on the turf.
“Well, I thought our defense was in the right spot and kind of a lucky bounce came to the kid’s foot and my goalie was shielded off and he put it in,” Allen said. “I mean, he shot it with great pace and, credit to him, you got to put it on target. Put it on target, anything can happen.”
Afterwards, as Byram Hills players retreated to the school gym to collect their consolation gifts, Levine reflected on the Bobcats’ accomplishments and spoke about the bond he formed with all his teammates during their late-season run.
“More than anything, I’m just proud of these guys,” he said. “I came into the season without having any brothers and I’m going out of it with 30 of them. So there was nothing really to look back on and be sad about.”
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