Hamilton grabs overtime win in season opener

HAMILTON » Play like every day is a new start.

That may not be the official motto of the Hamilton High West varsity boys soccer team, but it may as well be.

In the last three years of head coach Chris Morales’ four at the helm, the Hornets have won their opening game. Each season gets a little better, including last year when they won their first three games.

The 2018 season was no different Tuesday as Hamilton went overtime with Spotswood to pull out a 2-1 opening-game victory on the strength of senior forward Gerardo Perez’s winner midway through the first OT session.

“We tend to start strong,” Morales said. “This was a tough day to do that because it was so hot, but they persevered.”

With both squads battling 90-degree temperatures as well as each other, the Chargers were able to get on top first when Luke Tharney put a pass from Yanni Hatzistefanis behind Hornets goalkeeper Giuseppe Scordato to give the visitors a 1-0 lead 12 minutes into the game.

Hamilton came back with pressure, which paid off midway through the first half when a ball kicked by Robert Recinos was redirected into the net by a Spotswood fullback for an own goal.

With the game tied, the teams went about testing each others’ limits while Scordato and Chargers goalkeeper Andrew Bishara kept the score steady.

As the Hornets backfield of Stephen Miszak, Kevin Rodriguez and Matthew Paterno helped in front of Scordato, Spotswood outside midfielder Skylar Malone kept the ball from getting too deep on Bishara until the final 19 minutes of regulation. During that stretch, Recinos got off one shot, and Perez unleashed two with one skipping inches wide of the far post with 17 minutes left.

The Chargers kept the pressure on into overtime. Then, as play evened out once again, Perez got free on a run down the far flank to receive a long lead pass from his classmate, midfielder Daniel Cua, before kicking the ball past Bishara for the decisive tally.

“I saw myself open, so I asked Daniel to send the ball ahead,” Perez said. “That was our first goal, and it felt really good.”

The fact that it was the game winner to give Hamilton an opening-day victory for a third straight season did not hurt either. Now the trick is to keep that success going.

“This feels like a brand new team because we seem to have more chemistry,” Perez said. “If we continue to play as a team, I think it’s going to be a good year for us.”

Like each of the last three seasons, Morales sees the possibilities for his squad to grab success. This time, he is hoping the players can sustain it.

“In the past, we weren’t able to finish with the same success,” Morales said. “It was good to see the way they responded to the challenge today. Before overtime, I told the guys, ‘We need a hero.’ Gerardo came through for us.”

If more Hornets can continue to do the same as the year progresses, playing as if each game is a new start to the season, Hamilton will be rewarded.

Spotswood(0-1) Hamilton (1-0) 1 0 0 — 1 101—2

Goals: Tharney (S), [own goal], Perez (H); Assists: Hatzistefanis (S), Cua (H). Shots: 9 (S), 7 (H); Saves: Bishara 6 (S), Scordato 8 (H).