Yodice nets OT winner as Northport tops Newfield
Northport's Neil-Ryan Yodice, second from left, gets mobbed by teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against Newfield in the first round of Suffolk Class AA playoffs. (Nov. 2, 2010) Credit: James Escher
Neil-Ryan Yodice was ready to come out of the game. The Northport forward was exhausted and trying to play through the pain of a back injury that sidelined him midway through the second half as Northport and Newfield battled into overtime of their first-round match in the Suffolk Class AA boys soccer playoffs Tuesday.
In the ninth minute of overtime, Northport's Chris McBride ran down the left sideline and sent a cross to Yodice, who pulled the ball across his body and fired a shot with his left foot which hit off Newfield goalkeeper Brandon Hiltz's hands and into the net to give the Tigers a thrilling 3-2 victory.
"I was freaking out because I had the time to take that touch," Yodice said. "The nerves were going through me but I composed myself. I had enough time to look where the goalie was going and I took the shot right where he went away from."
Yodice's game-winner was Northport's first shot on goal in more than 57 minutes. Yodice had taken the previous shot for Northport when he scored to put the Tigers ahead by two with 8:38 to go in the first half.
Northport dominated play in the first half but missed opportunities and strong play in goal by Hiltz, who finished with four saves, prevented the Tigers from blowing the game open.
Newfield came out of halftime with much more energy and got on the board in the 54th minute when freshman Jake Barros scored his first varsity goal, cutting the Northport lead to one.
"I kept thinking 2-0 is not a good score and they really stuck it to us," Northport coach Don Strasser said. "We just lost the flow offensively; they started beating us to every ball."
The Wolverines continued to push the pace as the Tigers struggled without forward Dillon Johnson, who sat out the entire second half with a back injury. Strasser said Johnson should be OK to play Friday.
"Dillon Johnson is one of the fastest people I've ever seen, if not the fastest, so when he's out of the forward position, it completely takes away a dynamic," said Northport goalkeeper Jackson Sirica, who made eight saves.
Branden Engelmann scored for Newfield with 11:35 left in the second half to tie the score at 2. Ricardo Lopes nearly put the Wolverines ahead four minutes later but his shot hit the post.
"The second half, we played way too defensively," said Northport's Will Luft, who scored the first Tigers goal.
Tenth-seeded Northport (11-3-3) will play at second-seeded Commack (15-1-1) in the Suffolk Class AA quarterfinals on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
"They're our rival school," Yodice said of Commack. "They're very very good but I can't wait to play them."
