Fox Lane boys cruise to 5-1 victory over visiting Yorktown to stay unbeaten

Lucas Ormazabal celebrates after scoring a goal against Mahopac. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

By JIM MACLEAN 

Five games into the season and the Fox Lane boys varsity soccer team has not tasted defeat as the Foxes are off to a 3-0-2 start after an impressive five-goal outburst for a 5-1 victory over rival Yorktown.

On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Foxes had traveled to Mahopac and let a two-goal lead slip away before settling for a 3-3 tie. That set the stage for Tuesday, Sept. 22, as the Foxes hosted Yorktown and finished strong for the dominant victory.

“We played well today, working hard in practice, finally today especially in the final third of the game we really put things together,” Fox Lane coach Tom Bond said of the win over Yorktown. “Today, we were able to finish strong which was nice to see. Yorktown is always going to play you tough and the guys answered the challenge.”

Fox Lane dominated from start to finish and really turned it on in the second half to close out the victory.

Juan Acosta led the way as he scored a pair of goals for the Foxes. Fredy Contreras and Lucas Ormazabal each scored a goal and added two assists. Kevin Lopez also scored a goal, and Peter Teves had an assist.

“Juan has been a great addition, he can play all over the field moving him around, we’ve been practicing attacking the goal and our movement today was really good and he was in the right position to finish,” Bond said of Acosta.

Fox Lane goalie Luke Valenti makes a save.

Bond was also impressed with his defense in the victory and how the unit has come together at the start of the season.

Fox Lane lost its goalie and all four defensive backs from last year to graduation, so it is an entirely new unit on defense and they have answered the call.

The biggest surprise addition has been senior Luke Valenti in goal. Valenti is a standout goalie in lacrosse, committed to play in college at Georgetown, but he never played high school soccer before this season. He earned the starting spot in preseason and has led the way in goal all season with two shutout wins and only allowing five goals in five games.

The defense in front of him has also come together, led by Max Cohen, who missed all of last season due to injury, along with Teves and Evan Cattanach.

“Luke has never played soccer before, he came into tryouts and he’s been great, learning on the fly, from day one to today he has grown so much and he continues to show up and get better every day,” Bond said of Valenti. “Our back four have done a great job, and I’m super pleased the way they’re working together on defense.”

On Saturday, Fox Lane knew it was in for a test against a tough Mahopac team on the road and the Foxes came out strong.

It was the senior captain combination of Contreras and Lucas Ormazabal setting the tone as they combined on a pair of goals to stake the Foxes to a 2-0 lead 20 minutes into the game.

First it was Ormazabal creating a rush down the line and then crossing the ball to Contreras in the center and he finished it off for the goal. Then the roles were reversed as Contreras sent a through ball to Ormazabal who beat a pair of defenders to score the goal.

“Both of them, you can see what they can do together as a combination on the field,” Bond said of Contreras and Ormazabal. “And it’s not just on the field, both of them as captains have really taken on a leadership role and have been a huge part of creating a good atmosphere for the team since the pre-season.”

The Foxes suffered a pair of injuries to midfielders in the Mahopac game and the hosts pounced on the opportunity, controlling possession and scoring a goal before halftime to cut the lead down to 2-1. Mahopac then scored a pair of goals to take a 3-2 lead, but Ormazabal was able to convert on a penalty kick for the Foxes and the two teams settled for a 3-3 tie.

It adds up to a good start, but Bond knows the Foxes face a big test ahead against league rivals and they want to finish strong.

“It’s a long season, a marathon race, and we want to be peaking at the right time,” said Bond. “We need to continue to show up every day, and we hope to be playing our best soccer in late October heading into the playoffs.”

Fox Lane hopes to keep it going with a busy week ahead against league opponents. The Foxes were set to face Eastchester on the road on Thursday, Sept. 24, followed by a home game on Saturday against rival Horace Greeley. Fox Lane then hosts rival John Jay on Monday, Sept. 28, for senior night.