By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For 40 minutes Wednesday night, the Fairport boys’ soccer team went through the paces of an exercise in frustration.
A first half in which the Red Raiders carried the large part of the momentum produced little more than a trio of corner kick opportunities, a pair of scoring chances nullified by offsides, a break stopped in the open field and a shot that found the post.
Joe Buttarazzi rings the post. pic.twitter.com/mLduB2Wy02
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 8, 2021
Fairport needed less than two minutes of play coming out of halftime to change that trend.
Marco Ferri redirected a Myles Palmer cross with 38:31 remaining in the game, and Fairport went on to defeat Greece Athena, 4-0.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM RON ANDREWS HERE.
“It was huge,” Palmer said of the goal. “It was like a break-through moment. It was like everybody was into it now.” We were finally getting the tempo. Everybody was starting to play. Everybody started connecting.”
Palmer found open space along the left side of the field and pushed the ball to the end line before playing it into the middle for Ferri who had an open net in front of him.
“We were finally getting tempo,” Palmer said of the impact the goal had on the Red Raiders. “Everybody was starting to play. Everybody started connecting.”
Palmer connected on the next two goals for an end result that had the appearance of an easy affair, but it was nothing like that for Bill Teasdale’s squad.
“We created opportunities, but we were playing too slow,” the second-year coach said of his team’s effort in the first half. “We weren’t playing fast enough. We didn’t play with enough intensity. We had some opportunities, but we didn’t come out with enough intensity. We didn’t come out with enough speed of play.”
Palmer converted a Jonathan Mussumeci cross for a 2-0 lead with 18:59 left on the clock. Less than nine minutes later, the junior forward put the game out of reach when he gathered a ball inside the 18-yard box and volleyed it left side netting.
“Coming off the field at halftime we got a lot of encouragement from our coaches to keep our heads up because we had to win the game,” said Palmer who was stopped on a break in the first half and had a pair of scoring opportunities early in the second half. “It can’t be all about, ‘I missed a chance.’ You got to dig in and score because every game counts.”
The goals were Palmer’s fourth and fifth of the season.
“He’s only a junior, but he’s a third-year varsity player,” Teasdale said of Palmer. “He doesn’t just finish. He creates opportunities. He’s strong. He’s fast. He’s technical. He’s got all the pieces, all the components to be a great player.”
Palmer put his athleticism on display for the 2-0 lead. Mussumeci gained an advantage along the right flank and played a cross into the box. Palmer went airborne and found back of the net with a nod of the head.
62’ Jonathan Mussumeci gets the corner, and Myles Palmer nods home the cross for a 2-0 @FCSDSports lead pic.twitter.com/rGTkx7GNON
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 8, 2021
“It just happened so fast,” Palmer said of the goal. “I was hungry. I wanted to score. As soon as the ball came in, I just went for it. Only thought in my head, bury it!”
Palmer leads Fairport (3-0-0) with five goals and two assists.
70’ Myles Palmer gives @FCSDSports a 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/RXflYkjnSn
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 8, 2021
Braden Paoni capped the scoring with 4:55 remaining.
Fairport has outscored opponents by a combined score of 10-2.
Athena (1-3-0) played without All-County performer Gavin Rice and starter Ryan Kovar. Both were sidelined with minor injuries. The Trojans fell to reigning Section V Class AA champion Penfield last week. Athena plays 2020 Class A champion Pittsford Sutherland later this week.
Jim says
Bill Teasdale’s the best coach in the region