Men's Soccer Sinks Maritime in First Skyline Game

Patchogue, N.Y.— St. Joseph's (3-6, 1-0 SKY) came out with something to prove on Saturday afternoon in their first Skyline Conference game of the season against archrival Maritime (4-4, 0-1 SKY), the reigning Skyline Conference Champions.  The Golden Eagles used last year's loss in the Skyline Championship Final as fuel towards shutting down Maritime in a solid 3-0 win.

The first 45 minutes of the game were relatively uneventful, though SJC outshot Maritime 6-3 and succeeded in keeping the game on the offensive end of the field.  The tension rose as the clock ticked down; by half time the intensity of the players had effectively spread to the spectators as the packed bleachers of Danzi Stadium buzzed with enthusiastic noise.

The deep-seated rivalry between the two teams was evidenced by aggression early in the second half as nearly every other play was interspersed by a foul from either team.

The scoreboard lit up for the first time in the 61^st minute of the game when junior forward Fabio Alves (Holbrook N.Y./ Sachem East) scored off of an assist from Dylan Ierardi (Kings Park N.Y./ Kings Park).

Maritime barely had time to catch its breath when, eight minutes later, John Dettori (Bay Shore, N.Y./ Bay Shore) expertly sent the ball up to Alves who chipped the goalie and put another in the back of the net, bringing the Eagles to a 2-0 lead and the crowd to its feet.

The Golden Eagles cinched the victory at 79:44 when Dettori scored off of an assist from Alves, knocking the wind out of Maritime who proceeded to make twelve substitutions in the last ten minutes of the game (including the keeper).

St. Joseph's goalie Chris Muhs (West Babylon N.Y./ West Babylon) saved both of Maritime's two shots on goal.

The Golden Eagles will visit Farmingdale State on September 26 at 4 p.m. in their second Skyline Conference game of the season.

(Game story by Caitlynn Webber)