Albany, NY - Wednesday afternoon was the day for the Panthers to play their play-in game against the Moose of Maine Augusta. Coming in as the third seed in the conference, the Panthers were able to host the play-in game. The Panthers also got the chance to celebrate their Seniors and the careers they have had here.
Game day kicked off with a celebration of the four Seniors on men's soccer that have played a big factor in the success of the program over the last couple of years. The four Seniors for the team this year were
Firaas Anis (Brooklyn, NY),
Gavin Carvey (Cato, NY),
Michael Dean (New Windsor, NY), and
Matt Maggy (Plattsburgh, NY). They met up with their families for a couple pictures and given flowers and gifts from their teammates. Anis will be be leaving with 7 career goals, and 11 career assists. Carvey has totaled 6 career goals and currently third in most career assists with 19. Dean has 3 career goals, but has been a very versatile player for the Panthers. Maggy has 3 career goals and 4 career assists while being an anchor for the Panthers on defense.
The lineup was changed a little bit and saw
Matt Maggy as the front striker for the Panthers. In the fifth minute, his roommate and fellow Senior,
Gavin Carvey found him on a pass that Maggy took a couple more dribbles before ripping it off the right cross bar and in for a goal. This put the Panthers up 1-0 early, and they would hold that for the rest of the half. The team continued to try and find Maggy up front, but could not get another goal before the first half ended.
The second half, the Panthers went back to their normal starting lineup. The first goal of the second half came off a beautiful end line pass by
Jay Carlson (Saratoga Springs, NY) that found Carvey, and he was able to tap the ball in the air and strike it right into the back of the net. A couple minutes later, off a corner kick from Carvey, Carlson was able to head it back where it found the foot of
Michael Dean, who rocketed it in for a goal to put the Panthers up 3-0.
Vincent DeVito (Saratoga Springs, NY) was the next Panther to find the back of the net off a pass by
Firaas Anis. The Panthers would get their final goal off a beautiful up the field pass to Carlson from
Ryan Prescott (Wayne, NJ) to help the Panthers secure a 5-0 win.
After the win, Senior, and captain
Gavin Carvey was asked his thoughts on the win, and what it means to win on Senior night. His response was "Wicked good, obviously. We came out a little rough in the first half, but picked it up in the second half. We live to play another day." He was then asked how this win will carry into the semifinals. He responded saying, "Just gives us a lot of momentum moving forward. We got to keep moving the ball, that's the biggest thing."
Head coach John Adeseko was asked his thoughts on getting his seniors invovled on their night in a playoff game. He responded by saying, "It is always big on senior night to make sure they have a good game and to make sure we get a win. If they enjoy themselves, and we put on a good show it is always good for the fans and the seniors as well. We got the win, the first half was rough but the second half we picked it up but we got the win. Now it is time to train and prepare for next weekend." Coach Adeseko was then asked what his team needs to do to get the win next weekend. His response was, "Honestly, just need to clean up our mistakes, play our game, move the ball, and get it back as soon as we can. If we stay focused and a little detailed, we should be okay."
The Panthers get the win on Senior night and advance to the Semifinals of the YSCC Tournament. ACPHS is this years men's soccer final four host college, so the Panthers will be at home for the Semifinals on Saturday the 28th against Southern Maine. Until then, the Panthers will be resting, and tuning up to prepare themselves for another go at the Championship game.
How to follow the Panthers: For the latest information on ACPHS athletics, visit acphspanthers.com or check out the ACPHS athletics social media platforms on Instagram @ACPHSPanthers or Twitter @ACPHSAthletics.
