Harrison and Farmington Soccer Play to 1-1 Draw

The varsity boys’ soccer teams of and played to a 1-1 draw on Monday evening at Harrison.

The game marked the first time in six matches this season that the Harrison Hawks did not come out the winner, moving their record to 5-0-1 on the season.

Harrison opened the scoring less than 10 minutes into the first half when senior Madala Mathurin pounced on a loose ball in front of the net and deposited it for the game’s first goal. But, as Hawks’ head coach Tim Russell pointed out, scoring the first goal may have had a negative influence on Harrison.

“We played a little afraid in the first half,” Russell said. “One of the disadvantages of scoring first is that sometimes when you do that, you get on your heels.”

The Falcons tied the game at one with a goal by junior Brent Winkler just prior to the midway point of the first half. Winkler was a factor for Farmington all night, creating numerous scoring chances.

“Brent played a really solid game and really worked hard up top for us,” said Falcon head coach Luke Jancaj, whose team's record now rests at 5-1-3. “I needed that effort from more people tonight.”

Jancaj noted that he was pleased with his team’s performance and how they responded to the early deficit, but that they got a little too emotional at times.

“We played pretty well,” Jancaj said. “We got a little bit emotional, and that got us off our game. We weren’t as sharp as we have been, but we played pretty well and had plenty of chances.”

Preventing Winkler and the rest of the Farmington squad from capitalizing on those chances was Hawks’ senior goalkeeper Trevor Kubitskey, who made big stops in the second half when Farmington applied significant pressure. Russell said Kubitskey’s performance on Tuesday is just another part of an impressive transition.

“This is his first year as a full-time goalkeeper,” Russell said. “He works hard, follows every instruction that I give him, everything is ‘Yes, coach.’ He just listens to everything that we teach and then goes out and does it on the field.”

Both teams will be competing on Tuesday as well, with Farmington hosting Berkley and Harrison welcoming West Bloomfield. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.