Match photos: http://smu.gs/1X6pmsA
It has been fairly rare for the Newbury Black Knights soccer team to be playing in a meaningful match at any part of the season in recent years, yet alone be in a tilt with league title implications at stake. Nonetheless, last Wednesday evening they found themselves hosting an experienced Lordstown Red Devil team with slim Northeastern Athletic Conference aspirations on the line. With even numbers of upperclassmen on both rosters, 10 apiece, the match came down to which team’s youngsters would have the biggest effect.
It was the experience of some older Red Devils that came through with scoring plays that resulted in a 5-2 Lordstown victory.
Paced by two goals apiece from senior Ethan Radtka and Jiryes Rafidi, who also added an assist, as well as a pair of assists from junior Michon Peterson and a goal from sophomore Dominic D’Amico, Lordstown jumped out to a 3-0 lead on scores from D’Amico, Radtka and Rafidi in the first 23:07 of the game, and the Black Knights, while never giving an inch of turf willingly, found themselves outmanned in the center of the field most of the night and could not recover.
Kevin Piczer finally got the Black Knights on the board toward the end of the first half as the junior planted a corner kick by Mario Puletti firmly into the twines. To that point, the Red Devils (11-3-1, 11-2-0 in NAC) had dominated, although tenuously.
“I’m really proud of the progress our kids have made since last season,” Newbury coach John Fitz said. “After having just one win in each of the last two seasons, reaching nine for this year, depending on how we finish, has been a real blessing to the kids and community. Coming into this season, I knew we had some talent, but I was concerned about our stamina and how we adjusted to the speed of the high school game. As we’ve improved over the course of the season, now I’m concerned about the kids keeping their expectations up.”
The youth of the Black Knights is a key element to consider. With only a trio of seniors including keeper Joe Kolenic, Jeremy Stefancin and co-captain Emily Wilson, several freshmen have stepped up with solid talents to provide a boost this year with high hopes for the future as well.
One of those ninth-graders, and possibly the most talented, is Hannah Grubbs. Although she did not figure in any scoring, she leads the team with seven goals, no small feat for a freshman of either gender. The Red Devils were aware of her at all times on the field, though, marking her often with double or triple teams to make sure she didn’t get close to the net.
For the most part, it worked, but Lordstown coach Tim Malone knew how she is blessed as an athlete.
“You’ve got to give Newbury a lot of credit for their improvement over the season,” the veteran leader said. “They’re young, we knew it, but they work so hard. Coach Fitz has them going in the right direction, and you can’t say enough about the ability of the girls on their team. Number 17 (Grubbs) can do a lot of things on the field with her feet, and she is always working for good position looking to score.”
Grubbs enjoyed herself on the pitch, though.
“It’s a little scary out there sometimes against some of those big kids,” she said. “At the beginning of the season, I was concerned about my own and the team fitness levels, but we’ve gotten a lot better. Winning games also has been good for our psyches.”
“From the very get-go,” Fitz said, “I could see our freshman class had a lot of talent. I felt our season would depend on them developing physically and developing more confidence in themselves and the abilities of the entire team. It has worked well for us.”
Grubb had a load of confidence in her teammates.
“I’m not too surprised at how well we’ve done,” she said before heading out into the cool, damp night. “I’m really happy we’re having this success, and it’s nice to think that we can be helpful for everybody else in making our program better.”
Pushing the pressure buttons going both ways in the game was key to the Lordstown win.
No matter the direction, they got more bodies to the ball, but it was completely a physical effort the whole way.
Tighter pressure from the Black Knights showed in the second half, but when Rafidi scored his second goal at the 12:14 mark for a 4-1 Red Devil lead, you could feel the Newbury hopes fading.
After Puletti scored the second goal for Newbury at the 24:31 mark, a glimmer of hope remained, but Radtka sealed the contest with his second tally at the 28:21 mark for the final score.
Lordstown outshot Newbury, 20-6, and Knights keeper Kolenic had 15 saves to five for Lordstown keeper Colin Himes.
Perhaps a true indicator of the team differences came on the second Rafidi tally, as his shot, while not a meteor, hit the turf just in front of Kolenic as he set for the save, bounced off his hands and into the nets for that 4-1 lead.
Lordstown will have locked up a possible share of the title depending on their tilt with Mathews this week. The Knights capped a great year when they hosted Bloomfield this passed Monday night on Senior Night.
The trio of seniors have gone through rough times, but have given the leadership needed to this year’s bunch of youngsters to give Newbury a bright future on the pitch.
With juniors like Piczer, Jonah Hamby, A. J. Slade, Aidan Kristo, Noah Wilson, Christina Weber and Trent Ferry being the old kids next season, with a winning concept instilled with them, plus the experience of the young kids this year, it is safe to say the Newbury soccer program is building a head of steam to be dealt with for a long time.
Match photos: http://smu.gs/1X6pmsA