Fordham Prep’s Spencer Heitman kicks the ball. (Lauren Marsh)
Sean Howe couldn’t kick it. And he couldn’t get his head on it, either. So when Naill Pereira’s cross took a bounce in the box, the Regis senior did the only thing he could: throw his body at it. The maneuver caught Fordham Prep goalkeeper Mark Radjovic by surprise and the ball trickled past him into the goal off Howe’s midsection.
“I was going toward the ball and the only thing going through my mind was putting it into the net no matter what,” Howe said. “That’s kind of my style of play. I’m not the prettiest player on the field, but I go hard.”
The 62nd-minute tally was the equalizer for Regis in an eventual 1-1 tie with rival Fordham Prep in CHSAA Class AA boys soccer Tuesday on Randall’s Island. Like the goal, it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing match, but a result against a team that has been to four of the last five city championship games was a positive outcome for the Raiders (1-0-2).
“I tell them it doesn’t have to look pretty,” Regis coach Vinny Catapano said of Howe’s goal. “There are no videos on goal stat sheets. It’s a 1-1 game. If it goes in off the thigh, off the back of your head, it goes in. That’s all we have to worry about.”
The Rams (0-0-3) dominated play throughout the first half and took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute on a Gaetano Taoromina header goal off a pass in the box from Spencer Heitmann. Dylan Cope, making his return from a two-game suspension, had the cross that started the play off.
That was the only chance Fordham would convert, though. Regis played better in a more even second half and then had to hold on being a man down for the final 11 minutes when senior striker Ryan McLaughlin was sent off with a straight red card. He got into a scuffle with Fordham defender Mark Higgins got into a scuffle; Higgins said McLaughlin punched and kicked him.
Higgins then charged at McLaughlin. Referees said afterward that Higgins started it, according to Catapano. Higgins picked up a yellow card on the play.
“I asked the ref after the game and the explanation that I got was it was a retaliation, but he saw the first one,” Catapano said. “So I don’t know how if you see the first strike and you see the retaliation how the fouls aren’t similar. I don’t get that.”
Regis will be without McLaughlin, its best finisher, for two games, including a key rivalry matchup Tuesday with Xavier. As for Fordham, the Rams were just frustrated they couldn’t finish in this game.
“We had point-blank chances and we shot right at the keeper,” Fordham Prep coach Pete McNamara said. “They’re overthinking. They’re overdoing it. They’re getting through and when those chances don’t happen they get frustrated.”
Fordham now has three 1-1 ties with Regis, Xavier and Iona Prep to start off its season. To the Rams, what makes it even more disappointing is that they felt they outplayed all thre opponents. Taoromina was especially upset about the Regis game.
“I just think we slumped, especially me,” he said. “I take full blame. I went into a trance. I just couldn’t snap out of it. It won’t happen again, I can tell you that much.”
Fordham meets Stepinac in another Archdiocesan rivalry tilt Thursday. It’ll have to do it without midfielder Erich Eberts, who had surgery Tuesday to repair damaged cartilage in his knee. McNamara wasn’t sure how long he will be out.
Catapano said his team went into this game looking for a win, especially at home. But Regis will settle for a tie after being down a man in the 69th minute. If there was one thing learned from the draw, it’s that the Raiders are greatly improved from last year. Now they just have to figure out what to do about McLaughlin’s absence.
“We’re a deeper team and we’ll make it work,” Catapano said.