Titans top Pats for rivalry win

Three first-half goals carry the day for TG

Posted 10/23/14

Intense and at times chippy, the Toll Gate and Pilgrim boys’ soccer teams renewed their rivalry Monday night at the Bend Street Complex, and unlike last year, there were no surprises.

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Titans top Pats for rivalry win

Three first-half goals carry the day for TG

Posted

Intense and at times chippy, the Toll Gate and Pilgrim boys’ soccer teams renewed their rivalry Monday night at the Bend Street Complex, and unlike last year, there were no surprises.

The playoff-bound Titans took control early behind three first-half goals and coasted the rest of the way to a 3-0 victory. The Pats, who will likely not qualify for the playoffs, played better in the second half but couldn’t find a way to narrow the gap.

A season ago, Pilgrim defeated Toll Gate 1-0. The Pats missed the playoffs that year as well, with the Titans going on to win the Division II championship.

This year’s game served as a little bit of revenge for the Titans, and it also gave them a Senior Night victory, something they’d been lacking during the past few seasons.

“They not only beat us, they dominated us,” said Toll Gate head coach Tim Hayes of last year’s game. “It’s good to get back. I think it’s the first Senior Night that we’ve won in four years.”

The Titans got early goals from Josh Sandin and Manny Pickering before Alexis Beltran added the third goal late in the first half.

Kyle Brown made six saves in net for Toll Gate, while Liam Strain made five for the Pats.

“We didn’t compete in the first half,” said Pilgrim head coach Bill Carroll. “We let them get first to the ball and they ran through us and we got what we deserve. They were the better team in the first half.”

Sandin scored his 12th goal of the year in just the eighth minute, rifling a shot past Strain from the top of the box. Six minutes later, Pickering did the same.

Without a ton of scoring punch, the Pats were in a tough spot. They’ve scored two goals in a game just twice this season.

“I was disappointed in the first half because we lost the game in the first half,” Carroll said. “I told them that if they won the next two games they might make the playoffs.”

For the Titans, it was an ideal start in a game that was bigger than the records indicate.

“We came out pretty well,” Hayes said. “The kids were really excited about the game. It’s an emotional night for them. You could see it on the field.”

The third goal really put the game out of reach. In the 39th minute, Pickering played a bending ball into Sandin in the box, who whirled and kicked it hard in one motion directly at Strain. The rebound bounced out to the middle of the box, where Beltran settled it and then shot it high into the middle of the net.

Even with 40 minutes left to play, that just about finished it off.

“A great win,” Hayes said. “They always, always play us tough. It’s never a fun game to coach. It’s so intense. Everything is right on the edge, there’s a lot of tackles.”

Pilgrim threatened in the second half early on, as sweeper David Saran fired a long throw-in into the box, but it eventually rolled out of bounds for a goal kick.

The Pats held possession from there for long spurts, but never seemed to create a bona fide chance. Saran took a free kick from just inside the corner flag in the 75th minute, but Brown jumped to make the save.

That said, after a lackluster first half, it was a positive for Pilgrim that it came out and continued to press over the final 40 minutes.

“Second half, I just told them if you want to roll over, roll over. If you don’t, compete,” Carroll said. “They went out and competed a bit better in the second half.”

Pilgrim fell to 3-10-2 with the loss and sits in 15th place in the 17-team Division II. It has one game remaining against Prout, which it will host on Friday at 5 p.m. With a win, Pilgrim could potentially tie for the 12th and final playoff spot.

Toll Gate improved to 7-6-2, and is seventh in the division. It was scheduled to be at Mt. Pleasant Wednesday to close out the regular season, with results unavailable at press time.

The Titans could move as high as fifth with a win. Last year, when they won the title, they were the No. 3 seed.

The postseason is scheduled to begin on Tuesday with the preliminary round.

This is the third time in four years that Toll Gate has qualified for the playoffs.

“We’re excited for the playoffs,” Hayes said. “You don’t get in the playoffs all the time here at Toll Gate, and we’re not taking it for granted. Last year was great, but two years ago we weren’t in. Three years ago we were in the playoffs, played really well and we thought we were going to be here all the time. Then we weren’t. We’ll enjoy the playoff run and some exciting soccer.”

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