By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Coming off narrow losses to a pair of Class A contenders, the Greece Arcadia boys’ soccer team took out its frustrations in the opening moments of Monday’s contest.
The Titans did all their scoring in the first six minutes on their way to a 3-nil win over Aquinas in non-league action.
“I was happy with the way we started the game,” Titans’ head coach Matt Vergamini said. “We put them under pressure. We finished which has been a struggle of ours this year.”
Landon Schreib converted on a corner kick opportunity in the match’s second minute. Three minutes later, Aidan Lewandowski struck, and Julian Silva followed that for the match’s final count.
“Set pieces have not been a strength of ours the last couple of years,” Vergamini noted. “This year, we’ve already scored on more set pieces than any other year. We’ve got some guys who’ve been doing a nice job attacking balls in the box.
“We’ve been taking advantage of opportunities on set pieces more so than the regular run of play in the game.”
Lewandowski played a service from the left wing that teammate Jared Hinchcliffe nodded to an awaiting Schreib inside the six-yard box for the match’s first goal.
2’ @SoccerArcadia wasted no time. Landon Schreib converts on a corner kick for a 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/OG7y9HwDUR
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 2, 2020
Lewandowski took a lead from Silva and connected from 20 yards away. Silva’s tally came with 34:35 remaining in the first half.
Gabe Taylor made six saves in the win. The second-year starter registered his third clean sheet of the season.
“The confidence is there from last year,” Vergamini noted. “Last year was really his first experience playing full-time in goal at all at any level. HIs confidence level has shot up from that. He also lays in the field during the summer, so his ability with the ball at his feet back there is a result of that.”
🤜 out courtesy of Gabe Taylor. pic.twitter.com/vhy8WMWOSh
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 2, 2020
Arcadia lost 2-1 Saturday in overtime to reigning Class A2 champion, Pittsford Sutherland. Earlier last week, the Titans fell to cross-town rival, Greece Athena, 3-2. Athena took the A1 title last season and advanced to the NYS finals. Both teams are among the favorites to win the Class A title this season.
Arcadia improved to 5-5-0 with the win.
Aquinas opened the second half with a pair of scoring opportunities. Alphonso Vito got loose inside the 18-yard box for a shot. Then Iesa Mohammed fed Adam Holt for a redirect. Taylor was there to turn away both chances.
“We got a little too content playing with the lead and sat back a little bit too much,” Vergamini stated “We kinda let the game come at us instead of taking control of the game. ”
Aquinas fell to 2-8-1 with the loss.
“The boys started out a little flat,” Aquinas head coach Josh Gleason said. “They’re so young they don’t process that they can play. Once they realized it and came out of the fog, I thought they played really hard.
Vito is one of two freshmen along with Ali Shabani in the Aquinas starting lineup. Mohammed and two others sophomores fill starting roles for Gleason’s squad.
“The kids are so young they don’t know what to expect some times.”
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