By Lori Brown
GRAHAMSVILLE — October 22, 2010 — The Tri-Valley boys’ soccer team hosted its last home game of the season on Monday afternoon at the Grahamsville Fairgrounds.
Unfortunately, T-V couldn’t register a victory for its seniors as the Fallsburg Comets prevailed, 3-0, in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division V game.
Fallsburg (8-5, 4-4 Div. V) started putting the pressure on early. Armin Chavez scored the first goal of the game on an open shot just outside the 18-yard line with 15:07 elapsed in the first half.
Between penalty kicks and corner kicks, both teams had more opportunities to score, but T-V goalkeeper Mike Devault and Fallsburg goalie Dustin Foertsch did a great job stopping the ball.
At the end of the first half, the Comets held a 1-0 lead over T-V (2-8-2, 0-6-2 Div. V).
At halftime, the five seniors on the Bears’ roster were recognized and presented their family members with a rose. Those seniors are Brandon Avery, Mike Houghtaling, Rich Johnson, Jarryd Killian and Tyler Ter Bush. T-V Coach Jason Closs thanked the seniors for helping him have a wonderful first year of coaching the team.
With 16:21 played in the second half, Fallsburg took a 2-0 advantage. The ball was touched by many Comets inside the goal box before Tyler McAuliffe kicked it in the net with an assist from Amado Gallo.
Moments later, the Bears had one of their best chances to score as they had an indirect kick just outside the box after a hand ball. Houghtaling took the shot, but the Fallsburg players standing next to each other to form a wall stopped the ball.
With 3:51 left in the game, Arturo Perez scored to clinch the Comets’ 3-0 victory.
Devault recorded six saves on the afternoon, while Dustin Foertsch had four saves.
“The defense held them really well,” Fallsburg Coach Herb Foertsch said. “They protected our goalie. He is playing with an injury from the Chester game as he was kicked in the knee.
“Our forwards did a great job,” he added. “We were going to wait out the first 15 minutes to see how it was going to turn out. Everything worked out for the best. I am proud of all the guys as they worked hard and wanted it.”
Fallsburg’s next game is a non-league contest at The Family School on Monday.
“I thought we had a solid first half,” Closs said. “We played well in the second half, but Fallsburg’s touches on the ball were better in the second half. They stepped it up and maintained possession. We have more offensive support, but haven’t been able to convert.
“We have 14 players currently returning next season, so we are going to keep building,” he continued. “The seniors worked hard. The seniors are a great group of kids and I couldn’t ask for better leaders in school and on the field. They hung in there even when we had tough games. They still have the will to come out and play and lead the group. The boys set the tone and that is not easy to do.”
T-V is slated to return to the field at 7 p.m. tonight for a non-league game at Sullivan West.