Rochester-Stoney Creek Soccer Rivalry Match Ends in Tie

Rochester and Stoney Creek met in a heated battle on the soccer field Thursday night, ending in a 1-1 stalemate at Stoney Creek.

Stoney Creek dominates first half 

The Stoney Creek Cougars controlled the first half by keeping the ball in the Rochester Falcons' zone and constantly attacking the net.

Stoney Creek struck first with 5:10 to play in the first half when Scott Alampi hustled down the field and centered the ball to his teammate for an easy goal.

"What was good for us in the first half is we came out and were very organized and it gave us opportunities," Stoney Creek head coach Adam Bican said. "I was happy that we had those opportunities, but they need to go in. I think it was heart for us that kept us in it."

Rochester head coach Chris Purgatori said wasn't real happy with his team's first half. “We had a pretty sloppy first half and it ended up costing us a goal,” he said.

Rochester ties it up

The Falcons managed to stay in the game after a halftime pep talk by Purgatori held inside the soccer net. "In the second half we cleaned it up after talking about it at halftime, and then we started executing," Purgatori said.

The Falcons regained their composure and flipped the attack on the Cougars for the majority of the second half. Mike Bowyer tied the game on a sniper shot for the Falcons with 15:56 to play in the second half.

The Cougars didn't give up and had opportunities to retake the lead with minutes left in the game.

Falcons goalkeeper Matt Hawes was able to deny those attempts, including one that he barely got a hand on to deflect wide. "Matt (Hawes) kept us in it, he played awesome," Purgatori said.

"Our biggest key to success today was execution. When we execute what we practice, that's when we're at our best."

Rivals play emotional game

Emotions ran high during the rivalry game and a yellow card was issued at one point for illegal contact.

"Rochester is a tough team, they have a lot of good players over there," Bican said.

“I love playing Rochester and Adams and I love seeing the crowd get into it.  Those games are special, and those are the games these guys remember forever." 

Looking ahead

The teams get another chance to best each other when they face off again at Rochester on Oct. 13.

Rochester (1-1-3) hosts Henry Ford II High School at 7 p.m. today.

Stoney Creek’s next game is at Grand Blanc High School at 7 p.m. Monday.