Larkin forges tie with top-ranked Neuqua
Most teams would consider playing the top boys soccer team in the state to a scoreless tie a victory.
Larkin is not one of those teams.
The Royals had the better part of the play for most of Thursday's match at Memorial Field and then had to survive a nervous ending to earn a 0-0 Upstate Eight Conference tie with Neuqua Valley.
"Absolutely not," Royals coach Ken Hall said. "We think we can beat everybody and that's the attitude we're going to have. There is no such thing as a moral victory."
Larkin (8-3-1, 2-1-1) was coming off a loss to East Aurora on Tuesday and wanted to show that its aspirations of making a long run in the postseason wasn't all talk.
The Royals had the first good scoring opportunity midway through the first half when Raul Sandoval beat a Neuqua Valley defender and sent a cross toward David Rodriguez. He was alone at the top of the 6-yard box, but his shot went high. Seven minutes later Sandoval ran onto a long ball and, with two defenders chasing him, fired a shot. Wildcats goalkeeper Jack Turanchik got a hand on the shot. The ball deflected toward the empty net, but went wide.
Ten minutes into the second half Larkin senior midfielder Steven Drew fired a right-footed shot from about 25 yards out that hit the crossbar. Michael Berraquin had a good scoring chance wtih 12:45 remaining, but his shot also went high.
"Defensively we did the job that we wanted," Neuqua coach Jim Johns said. "They are a dangerous team with a lot of good forwards. We kind of limited their looks. Even if they had a good look at goal, they weren't going to have a lot of time with it."
The Wildcats (8-0-3, 3-0-1), ranked 15th nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, finally got some chances late.
Jaymie Bullard went just high and actually hit the football crossbar over the soccer goal with 8 minutes remaining. Shortly after, Tanner Fink's header forced Larkin goalkeeper Raziel Somarriba to make a diving save.
Neuqua had a corner kick with about 30 seconds remaining. One header was saved by Somarriba, who finished with 7 saves, and another was cleared off the line by Larkin's Carson McFadden.
"I was really nervous," Somarriba said about the final scramble. "I wanted to keep a clean sheet."
"Our defense was fabulous," Hall said. "We played a very intelligent game. We knew their style and we adjusted our formation a little bit to stop their long balls and get a little more pressure on their backs. "If we play like this the rest of the year, we'll be just fine."