Harrison Boys Soccer Team Comes Up Short vs. Byram Hills, Eastchester
By Skip Pearlman
The Harrison High boys soccer team has been struggling to find an identity so far this fall, and the Huskies continued to search in a pair of losses last week, falling to Byram Hills, 5-1, last Thursday on the road, and dropping a 2-1 decision at Eastchester Saturday.
Last Thursday at Byram Hills, the Huskies had their hands full, facing a talented Bobcats squad, which found the back of the net three times by halftime.
Tyler Gerston got Harrison on the scoreboard 10 minutes into the second half, scoring off a pass from Luiz Guimeraes, but the Huskies didn’t have the firepower to get back in the game
Noah Bender made four saves for Harrison in net.
“Byram Hills is a good team,” Huskies coach Matt Pringle said. “Offensively and defensively they are a force to be reckoned with. And we’ve struggled early to find an identity… we’re slowly finding it, putting the pieces together. We got one in in the second half, but they responded with two more goals. We were able to get some new guys in and see some new looks, so that helped. And Luiz played a great game – he generated the goal we had.”
Harrison played much better Saturday against Eastchester, with Guimeraes tying the game at 1-1 in the 60th minute on a penalty kick. But the Eagles secured the win with a score with 5:00 to play.
Bender stopped five shots on goal in the loss.
“I had a good feeling about this one,” Pringle said. “We’re working and building, and this was at their Homecoming… it was high school soccer at its finest. I think we did a pretty good job – we made it a game, then they got the win. But I think the guys played extraordinarily well. Christian Saavedra, from left midfield, really gave us some senior leadership, generated offense and created opportunities. His play led to the penalty kick.
“Overall, it was a nice team effort,” Pringle added. “Given the circumstances, we played well. We lost, but we definitely played well. It was a good team outing, and a positive step in the right direction.”
Harrison was scheduled to travel to face Rye next Tuesday at 5 p.m.
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