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On a postcard-worthy autumn day, the Arlington High School boys soccer team turned in a picture-perfect performance.
The Admirals soundly defeated the visiting White Plains Tigers 4-0 on Sept. 24 on a sun-drenched afternoon at LaGrange Middle School. Since dropping a 2-1 decision to Suffern in their season opener, Arlington has reeled off five consecutive victories to create a palpable sense of momentum heading into league play.
Sophomore Cody Farrier had the game of his young career, scoring three goals and assisting on another to help lead the Admirals over a team coach Gary Montalto called one of the top three squads in Section I.
Farrier was hobbled earlier in the week by a foot injury sustained in practice, but he shook off any ill effects to be at the center of the Admirals’ offensive attack and score his first-ever hat trick.
“It feels really good to have a game like that. I’m very excited. That was a pretty hard game for us and we came out and played well. I thought I’d be off a little bit, but I was able to come out and be right in the middle of things,” said Farrier.
Montalto said the win was a major stepping-stone for his team, which showed flashes of the squad that won the state title a year ago.
“Cody’s been fantastic. He’s grown considerably into a dangerous player. This was a huge win for us. Defensively, we were really good at shutting them down and we used the size of the field to our advantage. Our ball movement was much better and the distribution around the net was something we’ve been working on in practice,” he said.
The speedy front line of the Tigers came out of the box on fire and had Arlington on its heels for most of the first 10 minutes, but the Admiral defense showed plenty of backbone and junior goalkeeper Richie Kinnear was unafraid to lay his body on the line to make four terrific first half saves. For the game Arlington outshot White Plains 13-7 and the Tigers had very few second-half opportunities in the Arlington zone.
The game was very physical from the start, with each team drawing numerous penalties. Some of the chipiness arose from the each team’s innate competitive spirit.
“The history of these programs is that both of us hate to lose and the games get pretty physical. You can draw a number of yellow flags if you’re not careful,” said Montalto.
In the game’s opening minutes, Arlington defenders such as junior Christian Redl were constantly hustling to clear the ball from the oncoming rush of White Plains forwards and midfielders. Junior midfielder Eric Fortier was also particularly adept at keeping the Tigers from penetrating too far into the Arlington zone. Kinnear made an exceptional diving save on a crossing shot from White Plains midfielder Mario Salas.
Arlington broke through at 21:35 of the first half when Farrier converted on a looping centering pass off the foot of senior midfielder David Neumann. The next Arlington score came right before the halftime break, when senior forward Matt Turcio headed a ball off the foot of sophomore Ryan Patino that sailed past White Plains goalkeeper Ronald Bonilla. Turcio’s score gave Arlington a 2-0 lead heading into the half and they didn’t look back.
The momentum of the game came to a screeching halt early in the second half when Tigers midfielder Juan Cardona rolled over on his ankle while chasing a loose ball. Cardona lay prone on the field for 45 minutes before an ambulance arrived to take him to St. Francis Hospital.
White Plains had a chance for a score early in the second half when midfielder Kristian Larios missed a point-blank shot in front of the Arlington net. Minutes later, Farrier followed up a blocked shot to score his second goal of the day and give the Admirals a 3-0 lead. Finally, at 25:55 of the second half, Farrier closed out the scoring, converting on an assist from teammate Eric Adams.
Montalto said his team was gaining confidence by each win and said the White Plains victory was aided by the adrenaline of playing before Arlington’s home fans. He said his job is to make sure his team doesn’t overlook any opponent before a big showdown next month against archrival John Jay.
“This was a good start, but I hope it doesn’t make their heads grow too much,” he said.
