BOYS SOCCER: Lecioni’s late goal helps Adams gain tie with Rochester
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Sometimes it can be like flicking on a switch.
After being outplayed for most of the first 60 minutes of play Thursday, Rochester Adams upped its intensity level immediately after an injury and the switch proved to pay dividends. The Highlanders outshot Rochester 8-2 over the final 20 minutes and rallied to earn a 1-1 tie with host Rochester.
The game between arch-rivals served as a non-league friendly, as the two will meet in October for their OAA Red Division match.
Adams, which had lost three straight games and was winless after nearly three weeks of play, took a large step forward with a young team. The Highlanders lost several players to graduation, plus four other key components are playing for the U.S. Soccer Academy and are unable to suit up for the high school team.
“We gave up four goals in a game, then three, then two and now one goal in a game. We are getting better, it’s just taken some time,” offered Adams coach Josh Hickey. “I think we needed to gain some confidence with a young team and getting a tie out of this will help. But we need to continue our growth and try to take another step forward in our next game.”
Trailing for 78 minutes of play, freshman Matthew Lencioni stepped into the heroes roll with his first career goal. Taking a quick touch pass from Zach Limb, Lencioni’s low shot through traffic sailed past Rochester goalkeeper Mike Murri’s hands and into the goal from 18 yards out with only 1:53 left in the contest.
“We lost three in a row and we didn’t want to lose four in a row. We just kept working hard,” said Lencioni, who has two brothers also suiting up for the Highlanders. “The ball came over to me and I just said to myself ‘keep it low and try to get it on goal. I might now get another chance.’ It feels great to score against our rivals.”
Rochester was the aggressor in the first half, holding a 6-3 shots edge over the first 40 minutes of play. The Falcons, who traded off 12 shots in the contest, the same number as Adams, were able to break the stalemate in just in eighth minute.
Senior Spiro Pliakos helped set up Rochester’s only goal, beating three defenders down the right side before slipping a pass through the goal crease to senior Mike Bisio, who pounced on the close-range opportunity with 32:51 to play.
The Falcons continued to control play until the mid-point of the second half, when the Highlanders unleashed a firestorm of pressure and eventually netted the equalizer.
“I think we played a little bit too defensive (in the last 20 minutes), which turned out to cost us,” said Rochester coach Chris Purgatori. “They just seemed to start playing harder against us and we didn’t respond well.”
Murri, who returned to Rochester’s program only two weeks ago after taking two years off from the sport, made several key stops down the stretch. The 6-foot-3 senior goalkeeper who also plays golf and basketball, finished with five saves and was quite active on crosses and loose balls in the penalty area.
“He’s a great athlete,” said Purgatori.”He’s a very good golfer and basketball player who didn’t come out for soccer the last two years after playing on our (junior varsity) his freshman year. We needed another goalie and he’s stepped in there for us and he’s done a great job. He made a couple of big saves for us. With all of their pressure at the end, they might have been able to score more on us if it wasn’t for Mike’s play.”
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