Hawks Battle Back to Tie the Warriors

By Cam Brennan

The Hawks took their soccer talents under the light this past Tuesday as they played the Cenral Falls Warriors. The Warriors had an impressive record of 4-0-1 coming into Dennis Hayden Stadium, while the Hawks were 2-1-0. Both teams came into to the game with some momentum: our guys were coming off a 4-0 win over Tolman, while Central Falls had knocked off East Providence, 4-1.

As the game got under way, the Hawks and Warriors were going back and forth with possession of the ball. The Warriors then broke through as Keller Pina scored on a breakaway. From that point, Central Falls seemed to have their way with the Hawks for most of the first twenty minutes. Central Falls had four corner-kick opportunities in that span of time, while the Hawks only saw one opportunity, that in the twenty-third minute off a Brennan Martin header. The ball was destined for the back of the net, but an incredible-and- fully-outstrecthed save was made by Sergio Rivera. This would not be his last highlight of the evening. The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth struggle between both teams.

The second half was much more entertaining as it opened as at a faster pace. It started with a Moisos Blanco header, which gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead over the Hawks in the forty-second minute. Seven minutes later, the Hawks almost got a litte help from the Warriors. Ivandro Pedrosa passed the ball to an unexepecting keeper, who saved the ball just feet from the goal line. A few minutes later on the other side of the field, Hawks' senior keeper Alex Amado made a punching save on a Moisos Blanco shot.

More opportunities came for the Hawks in the fifty-fifth minute, as senior Brennan Bica had a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper. There was contact between Bica and Rivera, but no call was made. Another chance was spoiled after junior Craig Conway thought he netted the Hawks' first goal, only to realize that he had been called offside, which was the third time he'd been flagged for that infraction. Following the questionable call on Conway, Alexi Flores scored in the sixty-fourth minute, putting the Warriors up 3-0.

With fifteen minutes left, the game seemed to be out of reach for the Hawks, who'd been getting their opportunities but were never able to put it in the back of the net. That changed in the sixty-eighth minute, when Craig Conway tucked the ball inside the left post and past the extended arm of Rivera. The Hawks immediately grabbed the ball and ran back to midfield, not wasting any time. Shortly thereafter, freshman Chukwuma Onyjose sent in a cross towards the net that went off Rivera's hands and in, cutting the Warriors' lead to a single goal. With the clock still ticking and six minutes remaining, freshman Chukwudi Onyjose (twin brother of Chukwuma) passed the ball perfectly in stride to Brennan Bica, who put it past Rivera for the game-tying goal. The score would not change from there, as the Warriors and Hawks finished tied 3-3. Amado finshed with five saves, and incredibly, Sergio Rivera had eleven saves.

The Hawks move to 2-1-1 and will go to Central to face the Knights Friday, September 26th, at 4pm. Central has not seen a loss or tie this season, sporting a 6-0-0 record. This record puts them atop the standings of Division I soccer trailing only Shea High School. The Network will have correspondents on hand to cover the action in what should prove to be an interesting matchup.