Scituate boys soccer team refuses to quit in battle with Toll Gate
SCITUATE — There won’t be a perfect team in Division IV boys soccer this season.
Scituate saw to that on Tuesday. The Spartans erased a pair of one-goal deficits to finally put a blemish on visiting Toll Gate.
Jack Patrie’s strike in the 71st minute earned the Spartans a share of the points at Manning Field. The hosts battled from behind to force a 2-2 draw, canceling out a pair of goals by Edrees Heidari.
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“We knew they were at the top of the table coming into this,” Patrie said. “We knew we had to take them seriously.”
The Titans eased to a 3-0 shutout of Scituate on Sept. 13 but found it a bit tougher on this ideal fall afternoon. Austin Simas erased a 1-0 halftime deficit with a free kick and Toll Gate couldn’t find a winner inside the final nine minutes.
“They’re a good team — a physical team,” Heidari said. “They played really well. I’m hoping for a rematch in the final and to get another shot at them.”
The Spartans rode four straight wins by a combined 15-0 into this one so their confidence was brimming. Perhaps it was that belief that helped them push late for a draw. Simas slipped Patrie down the middle alone, and his chip over onrushing Titans keeper Robert Caruso pulled Scituate even.
“I just thought about putting it in the back of the net,” Patrie said. “Just got to stay cold, stay composed. I knew it was in when it came off my foot.”
Toll Gate brushed aside a slow start to the second half thanks to a fantastic second goal from Heidari. Greg Laliberte held the ball at the top of the penalty area and Heidari stepped forward with a curling left-footed strike. Spartans keeper Bryant Amaral offered a courtesy dive to his left, but the shot was bound for the top right corner from the moment it left Heidari’s boot.
“It was with my left — I don’t have as much power,” Heidari said. “I tried to get a curve on it, place it in the corner and it worked out.”
Both teams were challenged by the bobbling grass pitch and long shadows. The Titans (7-0-1) found the right adjustment first in the 15th minute when Heidari won a challenge in midfield and continued forward. He walked in alone and fired inside the right post for a smooth opening goal.
“It was tough,” Patrie said. “They were all over us. They have some good guys up top and in the back.”
Amaral’s tip save on a Ryan Dacey header in the 38th minute kept it a thin deficit into halftime. Scituate (5-1-1) pushed hard out of the locker room and was rewarded after a foul some 30 yards from the net. Simas floated one toward the cage that slipped just under the bar to make it 1-1.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game second time playing them,” Heidari said. “Hopefully it’s a matchup in the final — it could be.”
Blackstone Valley Prep (5-4-0) and Rogers (4-3-2) entered Tuesday chasing the league leaders. Davies, Woonsocket and Providence Country Day generally can’t be discounted in the middle of the standings. It’s still a long way to November for Toll Gate and the Spartans.
“We want to win a championship this year; we know we can,” Heidari said. “We know we have enough. It’s just about working together as a team and putting in the work.”
“I think we’ve definitely improved since the last time we played them,” Patrie said. “You can see it in the score line. It was a lot better this time.”
TOLL GATE (2): Edrees Heidari 2; assist – Greg Laliberte. SCITUATE (2): Austin Simas, Jack Patrie; assist – Simas.
Halftime – TG, 1-0. Saves – Robert Caruso, TG, 6; Bryant Amaral, S, 8.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Toll Gate High School boys soccer team plays Scituate to a 2-2 tie.
