By PAUL GOTHAM
MENDON, N.Y. — Nuri Sarbudak found the back of the net early in the second half, and Pittsford Mendon pulled even for a 1-1 tie with Greece Arcadia in Monroe County Division III action, Wednesday night.
Sarbudak combined with teammate Jerry Anandarajah along the left side just outside the 18-yard box and went opposite side netting for his second goal of the season.
The Vikings carried the momentum from that goal throughout the second half.
“Hopefully, we can build some confidence off how we played in the second half and overtime,” head coach Mark Hurley said.
After going unbeaten in five straight including a 2-1 win over reigning Class A regional champion Greece Athena, Mendon headed into Wednesday’s match with a loss to cross-town rival Pittsford Sutherland in their most recent outing.
Trailing at halftime, Hurley had his concerns.
36’ Combination play – Jerry Anandarajah leads Nuri Sabudak for the equalizer. @SoccerArcadia 1 @VikingsSoccer9 1 pic.twitter.com/kqfm7LKi4R
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 5, 2020
“I don’t think we played well against Sutherland,” he said. “It could have been a result of them making us not play well. I’m not sure. It didn’t seem like us. First half (tonight) it was the same thing, and I was wondering where my team went. I felt like we lost our rhythm a little bit.”
Arcadia was coming off a 3-0 win over Aquinas earlier in the week, and the Titans were looking to rebound after falling to Mendon, 2-0 less than two weeks ago.
Last week, Matt Vergamini’s squad took Sutherland to overtime and fell by one to Athena.
“The last two weeks we’ve been playing some of our best soccer,” Vergamini said. “We’ve been giving some good teams tough games. We’re playing some of our best soccer at the end of the season which is what we want to be doing.”
The Titans started the scoring late in the first half. Aidan Lewandowski intercepted a clearing attempt and freed teammate Adam Strand for a strike just inside the 18-yard box. Strand connected on his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
36’ Aidan Lewandowski intercepts a clearing attempt and feeds Adam Strand to give @SoccerArcadia a 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/9HUlKxlmzg
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 5, 2020
Junior goalkeeper Gabe Taylor made seven saves as the Titans held off Mendon in the second half and two 10-minute overtime periods.
“I was proud of them,” Vergamini said of his team. “They (Mendon) put in a goal early in the second half, and it would have been easy to hang our heads and let down. I thought we rebounded off that and our intensity went up a little bit. We matched their physical play as best we can.”
Josh Price keeps the score level. @SoccerArcadia 1 @VikingsSoccer9 1 pic.twitter.com/IH21HkB9Vl
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 5, 2020
With a game apiece remaining on their regular season schedules, Mendon (5-2-3) holds the seven seed in the upcoming Class A tournament. Arcadia (5-5-1) is the 10-seed. A year ago, Mendon advanced to the Class A2 semifinals before falling on PKs. Arcadia lost to Athena in the A1 finals.
“To get back in synch in the second half and overtime it felt good,” Hurley said. “Even though we didn’t find the back of the net again, we created a lot of opportunities and we were playing the way I like to see us play.”
Nuri Sarbudak looking for goal number 2. pic.twitter.com/ONotSOOUSZ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 5, 2020
“I was happy with them,” Vergamini said. “I told them that at the end of the game. I was very happy with how they battled back and stayed in the game.”
Mendon plays at Sutherland on Saturday. Arcadia hosts Brockport also on Saturday. First round play of the Class A tournament is scheduled for next Tuesday.
Honeoye Falls-Lima (9-0-0) holds the top seed in Class A with Sutherland (8-1-1) currently holding the second seed. Webster Thomas (7-2-1) has the third seed with Athena (7-2-1) following.
*Article updated to include Adam Strand’s correct goal total for the season.
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