Hometown Rivals: South Boys Soccer Tops North, 2-1

The skies were dark and the winds were howling Thursday afternon at Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack as the Rams' boys soccer team rebounded from a loss to Albertus Magnus on Wednesday and defeated hometown rival Clarkstown North, 2-1.

The elements played a significant role in Thursday's game. Both teams struggled to keep any accuracy on their long passes as the wind was gusting all afternoon. Rain was falling on and off throughout the game, which, combined with the wind, made for a lot of throw-ins and sloppy play in the midfield.

Clarkstown North struck first and got on the board early in the first half. Alfredo Godinez took a corner that was headed for the six-yard box initially, but as the ball flew and the wind blew, the path changed and the ball fluttered into the goal.

South equalized when defenseman Chris Montera took a throw in from midfield. The play started in Montera's hands and ended up in the back of the net coming off Montera's foot. A beautiful touch from Sean Diffley and a sweet lead pass from Chuong Tran set Montera up for a first touch finish inside the box.

Clarkstown North seemed to be in control of the game in the second half but it was South that struck again with about 30 minutes left on the clock. Chuong Tran fought the ball from North defenders, drove to the front of the goal and safely slid the ball around the keeper and into the goal giving South the lead.

Once South got the lead they dropped a forward back into the midfield and played a safer style of play.

North had a pair of chances in the second half that that they would love to have back. Finishing seemed to be the theme of the day in this rivalry match. South made the best of their chances when they came and North was unable to finish in moments when it counted most Thursday.

Clarkstown North Coach Brian Bentley was disappointed in his team's play but made a point to mention the remainder of the season.

"Finishing. That was really the main problem today," said Bentley. "I think we controlled the majority of play and got ourselves a lot of opportunities, we just didn't finish today."

"We have a week off then we are back in action against Suffern," Bentley added. North boys soccer are looking forward to next week when they get the chance to bounce back.

Clarkstown South Coach Michael Ludwig was pleasantly surprised his team Thursday, citing a big change from Wednesday's game against Albertus.

"North is just as good as Albertus, today we played with teamwork and it is really nice to see them play a whole game that way," said Ludwig. "Working together and playing simple soccer is all it takes."

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