The Richard Montgomery boys soccer team defeated Paint Branch 3-0 on Thursday night in an exciting finish to the regular season.
The Rockets took the field at 7:25 p.m. and within a few minutes put constant pressure on the opposing defense. Two minutes in a shot from Drew Stern struck the post, and set the tone for the game. In the 16th minute, Will Diaz scored off a corner kick, deflecting off of a defender into the right side of the goal.
Shortly after, captain Aram Sahakyan hit the left post once again, getting shouts of excitement from the crowd. With fourteen minutes left in the first half Drew Stern capitalized on a lengthy time of possession and scored. RM dominated possession in the first half and ended it with a lead of 2-0.
About one hundred fans, including fifty students, came to cheer on the team for Senior Night. During the ten-minute halftime, the Poms team performed and the soccer team tossed t-shirts into the stands.
The beginning of the second half was a slower pace, and Paint Branch put pressure on the Rockets. However, midway through the second half, the ref showed an RM player a red card after an altercation at midfield. There was some confusion because the ref originally gave cards to both teams, but in the end only RM was left with 10 men against Paint Branch’s 11.
This barely hindered the play of the Rockets and they still controlled the ball well regardless of fewer men. Twenty minutes into the half, RM earned a penalty kick. Drew Stern easily placed the ball in the bottom left corner to put RM ahead for good, 3-0. The score would remain the same the rest of the game.
With 6 minutes to go both goalscorers Diaz and Stern were subbed out. The stadium rewarded their efforts with an enthusiastic applause. After the game, Drew Stern summed it up simply by saying “It was a good game,” and “We wrecked them.”
Senior night was the last regular season home game for the senior players. The team was mostly made up of seniors and all their expertise and experience was on display as the Rockets soared to victory. Sahakyan and other seniors used their experience to “keep communicating” with and motivating teammates during the game, the season, and hopefully deep into the playoffs.
The team now heads into the playoffs with confidence as they put a shut-out victory in the books.
Click here to view the photos from the game
