WCA’s Edo Bukalo kicks the ball away on a reset as St. Paul’s James Naples looks on during Monday’s NVL boys soccer match at Ray Snyder Sr. Field.
The St. Paul boys soccer team has the potential to make some noise, according to head coach Joe Campos.
The Falcons showed their potential in a lightning-fast rally at the end of Monday’s Naugatuck Valley League match against WCA at Ray Snyder Sr. Field. The Spartans led, 2-0, until just under the six-minute mark, and that’s when the visitors struck for two goals. Adam Whitley and James Naples scored within 2:14 of each other to help St. Paul salvage a point from the encounter against WCA.
“These kids, they don’t realize the effort that they have to put in,” Campos said after. “If they put this effort in for an entire game … We’ve got a good squad. I know we’re battling the injury bugs and we’re battling some sickness, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to play the game.”
Play the game is exactly what WCA did in the first half. Kevon Stephenson managed to be first to a ball near the St. Paul goal and deposited it in the net for a 1-0 lead less than eight minutes into the match. With just over 19 minutes gone in the opening half, Will Mowrey lofted a beautiful corner kick toward the far side of the goal. Xavier Duarte met Mowrey’s kick with his head, and the resulting goal gave the Spartans a 2-0 lead.
St. Paul subbed a bunch throughout trying to keep players fresh. That’s what happens when you’re battling injuries and illness.
In the second half, the Falcons turned up the physical pressure on the Spartans. Players like senior Nick Rieger, junior Anthony Gagliardi III and junior John Salgado helped turn up the heat. When WCA did get near the St. Paul goal, senior keeper Keegan Hill was there to turn them away. One key play came when Hill turned away senior WCA senior Will Rodriguez on a charge from the right side.
but it took until there were six minutes left in the match for St. Paul’s effort to pay off.
Senior star James Naples fired a pair of shots at WCA senior keeper Silas Creaven. Creaven stopped both, but the rebound off the second shot found the foot of Whitley, who scored to bring the Falcon deficit to 2-1 with 5:51 to play. With under four minutes to go, St. Paul drew a foul just outside the WCA box. Naples took the free kick and buried it into the right side of the net to tie the match, 2-2, with 3:37 on the clock.
“James is a special talent. Unfortunately, he’s been battling the injury bug,” Campos said. “He got hurt in premier in May, so he’s just getting back his core. This is his 11th goal, and he’s led the NVL in scoring the last two years, was All-State the last two years.”
The first half belonged to WCA, but the final six minutes belonged to St. Paul. The result was one point apiece for each team, along with matching 3-1-3 overall records.
“The first half, they came out, and they got us, but we recovered and kept going,” Campos said.
“Our kids played well, both teams played well. It was a good battle,” WCA head coach Ryan McDonald said. “We had our chances early on, and they had a couple late.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Both Campos and McDonald see an interesting regular season and postseason forthcoming.
“The NVL is wide open. It’s going to be a fun NVL tournament,” Campos said. “One through eight, it could be like last year where Wolcott comes through and surprises everyone.
“I think this year, hopefully we’re going to see a new name.”
“There’s a lot of decent teams, a lot of good competition, a lot of good scores where it seems like a lot of teams are in the mix this year,” McDonald said. “There will be a lot of teams in the mix, hopefully. It should be an exciting year.”
GALLERY: Here are my photos from Monday’s match.
