Surrendering an early goal did little to slow to Harrison last week, as the Huskies picked up an impressive road win, rallying from a quick deficit to top a good Mamaroneck team 3-1. The victory not only served as a high-water mark for the Class AA playoff hopeful, it also provided a blueprint for what the team is capable of when firing on all cylinders.
The host Tigers started strong, getting on the board just nine minutes into the game with a ball off the foot of Juan Pablo Morales, but that quick strike did little to deter the Huskies on the afternoon. Ellis Boyle answered for Harrison to send the game into halftime tied at 1-1, and Jayson Viola scored twice in the second half to give the Huskies a commanding 3-1 cushion which they wouldn’t relinquish.
Harrison head coach Alejandro Galeano said that the most telling thing about his team’s performance was that the early adversity did little to alter his team’s game plan and his club staid steady throughout, never trying to do too much.
“I think the biggest thing we did today was keep up our style of play,” said Galeano. “We gave up an unfortunate goal very quickly but we didn’t panic, we didn’t start going long,”
The win was the second straight for the Huskies, who responded to a Sept. 13 loss against rival Rye with two statement wins over Class AAA—the other being a 4-0 trouncing of Mount Vernon on Sept. 19. Galeano believes that his teams performance in those two contests prove that, with a full commitment from the entire roster, Harrison can hang with top Section 1 teams regardless of school size.
“All our guys, even the guys who came off the bench, were able to keep that style of play,” he said. “As long as we do that, we should be able to compete in any game.”
The Huskies have a number of stiff tests on the horizon, including back-to-back games against unbeaten clubs Scarsdale (7-0) and Eastchester (6-0) this week, and a tilt against Tappan Zee (8-0) scheduled for Oct. 9. The Tigers will take on rivals White Plains and New Rochelle this week before squaring off against Scarsdale and Arlington (6-1-1). The Huskies and Tigers will meet again when Harrison hosts Mamaroneck on Oct. 11.
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