By Joe Staszewski
By Joseph Staszewski
First place in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens is still up for grabs after a furious Archbishop Molloy comeback forced a tie Wednesday that keeps them knotted a top the boys’ soccer standings with Christ the King.
The two teams settling for a tough to swallow 2-2 draw in a game that saw the Royals grab a two-goal, second-half lead. The Stanners tallied two goals in the game’s final 26 minutes to tie the score, but could not convert a penalty kick in the 77th minute that would have given them the win. The two teams played to a 2-2 tie earlier this season and are in a three-way tie with St. Francis Prep for first place with 24 points.
“We played hard the whole game. We didn’t, give up, so we deserve to get a draw in the end,” Molloy senior Daniel Corridan said. “It leaves a bad taste in our mouth tying it.”
Christ the King (7-2-3) has traditionally played second fiddle to the likes of Molloy and St. Francis Prep in the past. It lamented giving Molloy a chance to get back in the game. The Royals (7-1-3) appeared in complete control after a penalty kick goal from J.C. Obregon in the 31st minute and a Cristiano Grimaldi scored off a feed from John Nunez in the 52nd minute. A handball on a slide tackle and a mistake in the back gave the Stanners a chance to rally.
“It’s a big disappointment,” Obregon said. “We planned our whole season for first place. Now we have to wait on the other team’s results, so it’s a big disappointment.”
Molloy, which needs six points in its final two games to ensure the division crown, never doubted it could get back in the contest. It rallied from 3-1 down against to beat Stepinac 5-3 in late September.
The Stanners got on the board, thanks a penalty kick on the 54th minute, and Chris Ray kicked in a poorly placed pass into the box by a CK defender to tie the score at 2-2 in the 63rd minute.
“I’ve seen it before, so it’s not like they can’t do it,” Molloy coach Andy Kostel said of his team’s resiliency.
What they couldn’t do this time was win the game. Kostel opted to have someone other than Corridan take the second penalty kick. Corridan picked fellow captain Lucas DoNascimento, who put the ball just over the crossbar. Ray had a shot from inside the box go just wide in the 80th minute.
“It was the exactly same thing against Stepinac, except against Stepinac the kids put the ball in the net,” Kostel said.
First-year Christ the King coach Michael Cognato believes his team gave the Stanners the openings they needed to get back in the game. The Royal didn’t convert a rare 8-yard indirect kick late in the first half.
CK came into the game riding high after beating St. Francis Prep 2-0 Oct. 3. This time they stopped playing as unit and could not hold the lead and put themselves in the drivers seat for the division title.
“When you lose composure away in foreign territory, individual decision take over,” Cognato said. “That’s how we lost a 2-0 lead, by individual decision unfortunately.”
