By Mitch Abramson
The Patriots played the first half Monday as if it was a post-mortem to the devastating loss to Townsend Harris, day-dreaming through 40 minutes of action at Bayside. After getting raked over the coals by coach Roger Sarmuksnis at half time, the Patriots came out covered with optimism and defeated Bayside 2-1 to climb into a three-way tie for first place in the division. Francis Lewis, Bayside and Townsend Harris are all 8-2 in Queens A.”The girls stepped it up,” Sarmuksnis said. “Whenever we play teams like Bayside and Townsend Harris and Cardozo, you want to play well and you just hope that the best Francis Lewis team shows up.”The difference between Francis Lewis in the first half and in the second half was noticeable. The Patriots were the faster and physically stronger team, but the players were flocking to the ball and getting in each other's way instead of spreading out and using the field. The site of Francis Lewis' black jerseys clustered around the ball cast a small shadow over the field, and Bayside found an opening in the 24th minute when senior Ashley Spellman took a pass from Zoe Margulies and punched the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead.Joseph Misso, an assistant soccer coach at Queens College, was scouting four players from Bayside and Anthony Richmond, the head soccer coach from Bryant & Stratton College, a two-year school in Syracuse where Francis Lewis' Caroline Verna is playing, was also in attendance. “That was very unexpected,” Francis Lewis' junior Jessica Molina said of the early game deficit. “We were still upset over the loss to Townsend Harris, and we let it affect us in the beginning.”The Patriots received a pleasant surprise in the 34th minute when second-year player Kateryn Kirichek took a pass from senior forward Angela Wooley, who has been accepted into Queens College to play soccer, and tied the game at 1-1 with a goal she described as “the greatest moment of my life.” Kirichek travelled a great distance to score that goal. She was a bench warmer on last year's team which won the division but faltered in the second round of the playoffs. Kirichek was living in the Ukraine until her parents moved to Kew Gardens three years ago. She left midway through her sophomore year at Francis Lewis to return to Russia but came back to Francis Lewis her junior year. Now she wants to stay in Queens, and has her eyes set on attending Queensborough Community College next year and then transferring to a four year school. “Kate has come so far from last year,” said senior sweeper Christine Flanagan who at 5-foot-1 towered over Bayside in the second half with her defensive play. “Everything about her has improved.” Jessica Molina rescued the Patriots from another heart-breaker when she scored the game-winner in the 47th minute off a throw-in from senior Jessica Aquilon. Molina found herself 16 yards directly in front of the goal and blasted the ball past the outstretched hands of keeper Liz Mardones.”I felt we came out a little flat in the second half,” said Bayside coach Joe Corrado of the second time this season his team had lost to Francis Lewis. The Commodores lost 1-0 on April 13. “I think they won more of the individual battles. They're a very physical team. We just have to put this behind us and move on.”Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by E-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300 Ext. 130.
