There’s an old saying in golf: you can’t birdie all 18 holes unless you birdie the first. In soccer, you can’t defend your section championship if you don’t win your first playoff game.
The Rye boys handled their business Friday night at Nugent Stadium with a convincing 6-0 victory over Pelham. The win, Rye’s 13th of the season, was a total team effort against an overmatched Pelican side.
“All season long, these boys have been focused on approaching one game and one opponent at a time,” said Rye coach Jared Small. “Tonight was really no different.”
Rye junior midfielder Kasen Scaperi found the back of the net with a diving header off of a brilliant cross from sophomore Harrison Zimmer with 7:13 to play in the first half to give Rye its first lead. With 3:39 left in the half, Scarperi struck again with another header off assists from senior Lex Cox and sophomore Felix Wismer.
Right before halftime, a Cox throw-in landed inside the box, where Wismer and Scaperi were eagerly waiting. The ensuing chaos in front of the net resulted in an unfortunate own-goal courtesy of Pelham, and made the score 3-0 Rye at the half. Second-half Rye goals were scored by senior Eddy Kehoe, freshman Connor Dehmer, and junior Alec Dodge Terra.
Rye senior captain Shun Nagata is no stranger to these Section 1 playoffs. This is his third consecutive varsity playoff run and he knows what it takes to move ahead.
“I try to remind my teammates to stay as locked in as possible in every moment of these playoff games,” he said. “I’ve been here before. I know what these games feel like. These games are different, and this team is different. We’ll be ready for our next game for sure.”
Senior Will Christiansson Molin had a terrific game off the bench after returning from his home country of Sweden, where he spent a week fulfilling preliminary requirements for mandatory Swedish military service.
“Will had his best game of the year for us tonight,” Small said. “I was impressed with his decision-making and control on the pitch throughout the game.”
In the quarterfinals, Rye will square off against perennial postseason foe Byram Hills. The No. 9 seed Bobcats (9-4-3) beat No. 8 seed Edgemont 2-1 on Friday. Byram Hills handed Rye its lone loss of the season, 3-0 on Sept. 10. Rye will host the rematch on Monday, with a trip to the semifinals on the line.
