Story by Jon Dinan
The Monticello boys had good reason to celebrate as they won their first game in more than a year with a 5-1 victory over Eldred in the semifinals of the Monticello Invitational Soccer Tournament held Saturday at the high school.
“It’s a great feeling,” said first-year Monticello coach Bryan Astras, who took over a team that went 0-15 last season. “It will put some spirit and confidence back in the team. they now know they have a chance. This year our kids are hungry and willing to learn.”
Jonathan Resnick scored twice while teammates Ariel Pabon, Felix Molina, and Dennis Rivera each finished with a goal apiece. Junior goalie, Anthony Lombardi had five saves.
It was also an exciting day for the Liberty girls’ team as Jayco Krebs drove home the winning goal in overtime to propel the Indians to a 1-0 victory over Fallsburg in a semifinal game of the girls’ tournament.
Krebs rebounded a shot from teammate, Melissa Symanski that deflected off Fallsburg’s senior goalkeeper, Brooke Rappaport, who was 10-10 in saves prior to the winning goal.
“I wish we would’ve scored earlier, but we dominated posession,” said Liberty coach Anne Ramos. “It wasn’t the kind of game that should have gone into OT.”
Liberty will meet Monticello in the finals on Saturday. The Lady Panthers dispatched Eldred 4-0 as Annie Purcell and Jordan Freedell each scored two goals. Kristine McEneary was perfect in the net.
The Liberty and Monticello boys will also meet in the championship match Saturday. Brendan Siegel’s two goals led Liberty to a convincing 5-0 win over Fallsburg while Gustavo Romero, Danny Diaz and Pedro Garcia each chipped in with one goal.
The tournament championship round will begin at 10 a.m. this Saturday, September 8 at Monticello with the girls final between Liberty and Monticello. The schools’ boys’ teams will square off at noon in their final.