The team embraces goalie Mike Warren after his heroics in the penalty shootout.
The Old Westbury Men’s Soccer team survived their intense playoff game against long-time rivals Farmingdale State Rams.
The game started with an intense back and forth affair which saw crossing attempts go awry due to great defensive play by both teams. Heading towards the first half, the game started to shift to a more physical sense after a couple of controversial shirt pulling and dives from the Rams side.
The physicality led to the first yellow card of the game to #15 Elvin Campos for a rough tackle in the defensive line, bringing the Panthers in at the half with a bit of caution to not lose the player.
The second half saw Panther dominance in possession, only allowing a single shot on goal the entire match compared to the three Panthers shots on goals. Though the score and stats aren’t indicative of the action, it was an intense battle in the midfield due to great control but lack of space for players to develop their plays into chances.
At one point, the Rams dribbled towards the box, but the Panther’s most valuable player, goalie Mike Warren exhausted chances before they developed.
The game came down to the fateful penalty shootout which saw Rams’ keeper Scott Flores face off in a goaltending duel against the Panthers’ Mike Warren. With one goal per team, the Rams missed a key shot as their second shooter William Grajales shot it over the crossbar.
The Panthers were now in the lead. The Rams wouldn’t score a single goal more as keeper Mike Warren made two key saves to lift his team to victory and advance to their playoff semi-final game against Mount Saint Mary College.
The tied score against Farmingdale State College led the Panthers to verse Mount Saint Mary College on Halloween night. Unfortunately, the Panthers lost 0 to 3, costing them the 2018 Skyline Conference Championship.
Panther’s keeper Mike Warren with the game winning save.
