Farmington Soccer Shuts Out Berkley

The Falcon boys’ soccer squad shut out the Berkley Bears at home on Tuesday, 1-0, despite hitting the field without two key players.

After more than 60 minutes of scoreless play, senior midfielder Ryan Markiewicz potted the game-winning goal with 18:38 remaining in the second half. Junior midfielders Brendan Patterson and Joe Trombley were credited with assists on the goal.

“Brendan Patterson got a ball through and across to me,” Markiewicz said. “I tried to trap it with my chest and just volleyed it in. The goalkeeper got a hand on it, but it hit the post and went in.”

Falcon head coach Luke Juncaj said that he was very happy with the effort his team put forth one day after playing to a 1-1 draw against .

“It was a total team effort tonight,” Juncaj said. “We talked about doing the little things; things like helping out up top, supporting the man with the ball better, and supporting the defender in back. We did all of that and I thought it was the most complete game we’ve played all year.”

Farmington’s victory came without two lineup regulars, junior midfielder Brent Winkler and senior midfielder Tommy O’Connor. Despite being short-handed, Markiewicz said that the team adjusted well and got contributions from some unlikely sources.

“We used players that we usually don’t use and we spread the ball around a bit more than we usually do,” Markiewicz said. “There were players out there that we don’t expect to make the big plays, but we trusted, and they made the big plays.”

While Falcon junior goalkeeper Alex Arlin was solid for the entire match, Juncaj noted that the credit for this shutout goes to the entire Farmington squad.

“I talked to the team about our defense being on from the beginning of the game,” Juncaj said. “They were on for 80 minutes tonight and we got a shutout against a very good team when earlier in the season we’ve allowed some goals to some weaker opponents.”

Farmington held the territorial advantage for the majority of the first half, but really took control in the second half.

“At halftime, I told the team that we had the wind at our backs and we needed a win,” Juncaj said. “After the last couple of games we’ve had, we really needed a victory. Even in the first half we had possession quite a bit and that wore the other team down. Because of that, we had better energy in the second half, and that, along with the wind, was a big difference.”

With the victory, Farmington moves to 6-1-3 on the season and ends a two-game winless streak. The Falcons’ next action comes on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Berkley. The Bears are 3-3-0 and will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak.