Boys soccer: John Jay working overtime to advance to semifinals

Finn Fothergill beats the Peekskill goalie to a loose ball for a goal in playoff victory. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

By JIM MACLEAN 

John Jay entered the Section 1 Class AA boys soccer tournament with a bit of a chip on its shoulder. The Wolves had something to prove and they were heading into the tournament on a roll finishing the regular season with a 3-1-1 record down the stretch.

So when the tournament seeds were announced and John Jay found itself as the No. 14 seed, the Wolves knew what they were capable of doing and they had to show it on the field, on the road.

First up, John Jay traveled to Peekskill on Oct. 23, to face the No. 3 seed. It went to overtime and penalty kicks, a thriller decided on the final kick as John Jay goalie Zach Goldstein came up with the save and the Wolves celebrated as they moved on to the quarterfinals.

“Penalty kicks are a whole different feeling, you’re standing there all alone and you have to put your mind on the kick and lock in,” Goldstein said. “All 10 shots were on target so it was up to the goalkeepers. I knew it was up to me and I wasn’t going to let my teammates down. A rush of adrenaline, I saw the ball coming, I dove and guessed it right and it hit my hands and we started celebrating, we’re moving on.”

One overtime thriller, followed by another in the quarterfinals as John Jay went on the road to face No. 6 seed Gorton, and the Wolves survived with a 2-1 victory to advance to the semifinals. (John Jay lost its semifinal game 3-0 at Lakeland on Wednesday.)

Goalie Zach Goldstein makes a save.

“We knew going into the playoffs that we were underrated as the 14th seed, but I think we’ve shown we can play with anybody,” Goldstein said. “End of the season we got guys back from injuries and won some games and carried that momentum into the playoffs. It’s win or go home and our energy has been a lot higher and we’re getting results.”

That result was in doubt early on in the first round at Peekskill. The Red Devils earned the No. 3 seed with a solid regular season and they came out flying in front of their home crowd. John Jay was down 2-0 just 10 minutes into the game, but the Wolves regrouped and settled down.

One of those players back from injury was forward Finn Fothergill, and he proved what a difference he makes in the John Jay lineup as he answered back with a pair of goals for the Wolves to tie it up at 2-2. First, Fothergill scored at the 22-minute mark on a nice passing combination play for the Wolves, starting with a pass from Porter Bysshe at midfield to Alejandro Pineda, who fed it to Fothergill and he drilled it home to make it 2-1. Then as the clock was winding down, Fothergill raced to a long ball sent into the box by Bysshe, beat the goalie and booted it home as time expired to make it 2-2 at halftime.

“A slow start, we just had to organize a bit better and they fixed it,” John Jay co-coach Michael Alexander said of the Peekskill game. “Being away from home, the crowd, the environment, there was a lot of pressure, but we had faith, I could tell just getting on the bus that they were ready and going to have a good game.”

The second half was a battle back and forth, but Peekskill took the lead with five minutes left to play. However, John Jay fought right back, scoring less than a minute later to knot it back up at 3-3. The Wolves earned a free kick across midfield, and Fothergill sent it into the box where Auden Lindberg was able to win the ball and score the goal to force overtime.

Auden Lindberg heads the ball away on defense in victory over Peekskill.

Throughout two overtime periods, neither team was able to score the golden goal, sending the contest into penalty kicks to decide the winner. For John Jay, Bysshe, Toby Brunner-Bright, Gio Pelosi and Lindberg were all able to convert on their penalty shots giving the Wolves a 4-3 lead, and it was up to Goldstein to make the save and he came through with a diving stop for the win to advance.

In the quarterfinals, it would turn into another overtime thriller on the road as the Wolves traveled to Yonkers to face No. 6 seed Gorton. Dennis Galvan scored on a beautiful flying kick for the Wolves, but it would be 1-1 at the end of regulation.

This time there would be no penalty kicks as Mateo Chollom was able to score the golden goal off a long cross into the box from Bysshe to give John Jay a 2-1 victory as the Wolves advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at No. 2 seed Lakeland.

“We talked about peaking at the right time and we’ve found our way,” co-coach Elliott O’Sullivan said. “A few key players are back from injury, and winning is contagious. We’ve got a lot of experienced players and they know they have to fight to the end. One goal up or down, you have to keep playing, and there is a lot of heart and fight in this group.”