Boys Soccer

October 14, 2009

Herrera lifts Bees in overtime

John Paul Herrera Bayonne

John Paul Herrera scored two goals, including the game-winner in double OT.

Click Here for more photos from Memorial at Bayonne.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

BAYONNE – Watching a two-goal lead evaporate in the final 12 minutes of regulation is something that could shake even the most experienced of teams, let alone a squad as young as Bayonne.

But the Bees, a team with zero seniors on the roster, were able to overcome the momentum against them when John Paul Herrera netted his second goal of the game to give Bayonne a 3-2 victory over Memorial in double overtime.

“To come back and get the result we did against (Memorial said a lot about their character,” Bayonne coach John Calcaterra said. “We’re a young team and it’s something to build off of.”

With a fierce wind blowing in their face, Edgar Contreras connected with Herrera on a long pass from around midfield. Herrera took care of the rest as he sped past the defense and kicked it past Memorial keeper Francisco Martinez for the winning score.

“(Edgar) drew some players into him and he found (John Paul) going towards the net,” Calcaterra said. “It was a big opportunity for (Edgar) to step up and he did.”

“They caught our defense off guard and they made a great pass,” Memorial coach Albert De Los Reyes said. “Bayonne took advantage on that play and on that counter strike found the net.”

Herrera’s winning score helped keep Bayonne’s hopes for a state playoff berth alive. It also marked a strong message from the Bess after suffering an 8-1 defeat in their first meeting with the Tigers (8-4-2) back on Sept. 21.

Up until that moment, all of the momentum seemed tilted in Memorial’s favor. Trailing the entire game, the Tigers erased a 2-0 deficit in a span of eight minutes. Fernando Alvarez put Memorial on the board with a goal off a pass from Jeffrey Monsalve in the 69th minute.

Just eight minutes later, the Tigers tied it up when Tyron Larquin’s sent home a rebound for the tying goal in the 77th minute to send the game into overtime.

In addition, Memorial was kicking with the wind at their backs in the second overtime period. Up until Herrera’s game-winning goal, all four goals had been scored by the team with the wind in their favor.

“It was a wind-aided game,” Calcaterra said. “Both teams were under pressure when they had to protect that goal (where the wind was blowing towards).  We got two goals going to that goal, they got two goals there.”

Starting the game with the wind in their favor, the Bees needed just five minutes to take the lead when Patryk Dawidczyk took a rebound and fired a left-footed shot into the net for the game’s first goal. Herrera made it 2-0 when he took advantage of a Memorial turnover and they sent a shot just inside the right post.

Sophomore Daniel Baez made five saves for Bayonne in the victory, including a leaping stop on an Orlando Benites shot in the first overtime. He also turned away a header by Alvarez from point-blank range in the opening half of play.

With the victory, the Bees still have a chance of reaching the .500 record necessary to qualify for the state tournament before the Oct. 23 cutoff date. Even if this late playoff push comes up short, Calcaterra is impressed with the progress his team has made throughout the season.

“This is a young team and week to week they’re getting better,” he said. “If we’re not fortunate enough to make the playoffs it really doesn’t mean anything to me. The fact that they’re growing as a team is what I’m looking forward to for the rest of this year and going forward.”

Fernando Alvarez Memorial

Fernando Alvarez got Memorial on the scoreboard with his goal in the 69th minute.

 
1st
2nd
OT
Total
Memorial (8-4-2)
0
2
0
2
Bayonne (6-8)
2
0
1
3
 
B: Patryk Dawidczyk ( ) 5th minute
B: John Paul Herrera ( ) 34th minute
M: Fernando Alvarez (Jeffrey Monsalve) 69th minute
M: Tayron Larquin (unassisted) 77th minute
B: Herrera (Edgar Contreras) 95th minute
 

Goalies: B: Daniel Baez (5 saves); M: Francisco Martinez (2 saves).