Harvey Boys Soccer Season Opener Ends in Tie
Looking to avenge a home field loss to King School last fall, Harvey’s boys varsity soccer team had to settle for a 1-1 tie Friday, Sept. 9, in a highly contested season-opening game against the visiting Vikings of Stamford, Connecticut.
Harvey came out strong in the first 20 minutes, registering several shots at goal and earned three corners, but the Kingsmen got their feet under them and began to counter with their own pressure on the Cavalier defense. Harvey had a chance to grab a lead in the 30th minute after a King handball in the box set the Cavaliers up for a penalty shot, but the Viking goalkeeper came up big, stopping Isaac Cullity Vieux’s attempt. The game remained scoreless at the half.
Harvey was a bit flat to start the second half, and the visitors were awarded their own penalty shot. Harvey senior goalkeeper, Jonathan Kushner of Cross River, responded and stopped the shot to keep the game tied. He finished the game with eight saves remaining aggressive throughout the match.
With 25 minutes remaining, King took advantage of lackadaisical coverage on a thrown-in. The King center midfielder dribbled across the 18 and fired a shot through a crowd of players, eluding Kushner to give the Vikings the 1-0 lead. Harvey responded just 10 minutes later in the 77th minute. Junior captain Kevin Dorf of South Salem beat the outside back and crossed a ball into the goalmouth where senior forward Jared Ellis out-battled the keeper and poked home the game-tying goal. The two teams remained deadlocked for the final 13 minutes.
Harvey coach Alex Morse was especially pleased with the play of his seniors. "Our seniors played very well. They set the standard of working hard all over the field, which the underclassmen followed. Kagan and Ellis were excellent at applying pressure on King's back four all game long. In the back, South Salem's Jarrod Waner, Rafael Tapia and Colin Nardi worked relentlessly to clear balls and even jumped to support the offensive attack. Overall, I feel good about our start, the work ethic was very solid, and I think our skill level will improve as the season wears on."
Harvey travels to Poughkeepsie Day School Wednesday, Sept. 14. before hosting Housatonic Valley Athletic League rival Forman Saturday, Sept. 17.
Harvey Girls Drop Soccer Season Opener
Harvey’s girls varsity soccer team lost 5-1 to a tough Fairchester Athletic Association opponent, King School, at home Saturday, Sept. 10, in the season opener.
Sophomore midfielder Charlotte Levy of Chappaqua scored Harvey’s lone goal with 10 minutes left in the first half. Despite the loss, Harvey coach Kamar Brown liked what he saw from his young team, especially on defense. “I thought our girls worked hard as a team defending against King. Karina Saxton, in particular, showed a lot of toughness on defense trying to stop King’s fast-moving forwards.” Saxton, a sophomore, is a resident of Bedford Hills.
Coach Brown was glad most of the freshmen saw varsity action for the first time. He said, “It was good to get the first game under our belts. We’re ready to take on the season in full force.”
Harvey’s junior goalie Kelly McMorrow made 20 saves.
Harvey Football Loses Season Opener to King
Harvey varsity football team kicked off the 2016 season with a 29-16 loss on the road to the King School in Stamford, Connecticut, Saturday, Sept. 10.
The 2016 Cavaliers, having graduated five starters from last year, are a young team, and their inexperience showed early as three key plays decided the outcome of the game. King scored on the very first play, a 65-yard kickoff return to put the Vikings on top. On their first play from scrimmage King scored again on a 55-yard run by the fullback. On their second play from scrimmage the King fullback ran right off tackle and scored on a 16-yard run. Harvey was stunned as the Cavaliers found themselves down 22-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter. After Coach Kyle Delaney set the tone in a timeout, the Cavs stiffened and played to their potential, yielding only a 3-yard quarterback sneak for TD late in the second quarter, but King’s score made it a 29-0 deficit for Harvey at halftime.
The Cavs came out strong in the third quarter and outplayed their rivals. On its second possession Harvey drove down the field 65 yards on seven plays and scored on a 41-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Will Shaffer of Bedford to junior running back John Sullivan of Pound Ridge. Sullivan made a great catch on a tipped ball and then dodged tacklers for the score. Sullivan’s subsequent 2-point run for the conversion made the score 29-8 midway through the third quarter. Neither team could muster a score in the remaining minutes of the third quarter.
After penalties killed several drives in the fourth quarter, sophomore Treshawn Felder recovered a fumble to give Harvey the ball deep in its own territory with 3:42 left in the game. Several key plays set up the score as senior Teddy Little had a 34-yard run and Sullivan made an 18-yard reception. The score came on a terrific run by Shaffer on a broken play when he raced 28 yards running from right to left dodging several tacklers and fighting off the last tackler to get into the end zone. Shaffer’s 2-point run made the final score 29-16 as the last seconds ticked off the clock.
Shaffer played well completing three passes, all to Sullivan, for 75 yards and a TD. Harvey coach Rob Griffin was impressed with Shaffer’s performance. “Will took several big hits early in the game but was undaunted and played like a true leader.” Shaffer also led Harvey in rushing with 69 yards while Little picked up 49 yards on the ground.
Sullivan led the defense with nine tackles Senior Dajour Fisher made six tackles and Little collected five. Felder and Amir Glidden recovered fumbles that stopped King drives and junior Matt Drude of Katonah made a nice interception at the goal line that was unfortunately called back due to penalties.
Photos:
Jonathan Kushner of Cross River blocks a shot to help Harvey secure a 1-1 tie against King School, Friday, Sept. 9.
Chappaqua's Charlotte Levy beats her opponent on her way to score Harvey's lone goal in the Cavaliers' season-opening 5-1 loss to King Saturday, Sept. 10 in Katonah.
Photos courtesy of: Gabe Palacio