ORR 1 Voke 5

A miserable opening 12 minutes proved too much to overcome for the Reds.  Voke quickly scored 5 goals before ORR settled in and began to play the best soccer of season.   For the first few minutes it was all Voke, the following 70 minutes belonged to ORR. 

Teddy Costa scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs early in the second half as they continually pressed and kept Voke on the defensive.  Steve O Burke had a golden chance in the first half before things got out of hand.  Paul Graves,  Alden Truesdale,  Max Houck and Robby Magee all had good tries at Voke Louis Carranza who was forced into making some  big saves. 

For the final 70 minutes freshman keeper Melvin Vincent was Carranza's equal when he was called upon to tip over the bar three rockets destined for the upper 90.   The rest of the defense, Alex Milde, CC Carando, Teddy Costa, Robby Magee and Tyler Hunter all had games of their careers.  They played with a fire and desire to win the ball that left Voke with no answers to form any dangerous attacks.  Mike Bliss, Max Houck, Kevin Noone, Alvaro Mansilla and Mike Pruchnik took control of the midfield setting the tempo for ORR's final push. 

ORR finished the season with a disappointing 5-9-2 record.  The team left the field with their heads held high knowing that in this final game, every player gave everything they had and understood that this team was a lot better than the record. 

ORR 2 Bourne 6

The Bulldogs were eliminated from post season play following a 6-2 loss at Bourne.  ORR put themselves in a deep hole giving up two early goals before settling down.   The Reds played Bourne evenly creating good chanced to get back into this one.   The pressure paid off late in the half when Max Houck scored off a Alden Truesdale corner kick.   ORR pressed hard for the equalizer before the half but got caught ball watching on a counter attatck by the Warriors who were able to score an easy goal  for the 3-1 halftime lead.  

The Bulldogs again let up an uncontested counter attack goal early in the second half.   Twelve minutes in ORR was awarded a penalty for a take down inside the box and Houck put it away giving the Reds a short lived breath of hope.  

ORR gave it their all and had to take chances to try to get back into this game and stay alive for tournament qualification.   By taking chances, they left themselves exposed and Bourne took advantage scoring the final two goals late in the half. 

ORR will host New Bedford Voke at 5PM on Wednesday October 24th to close out the season.

ORR 2, Wareham 0

The Bulldogs kept the post season in play with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Vikings of Wareham.  Robby Magee and Mike Pruchnik both scored first half goals that improved the Red's record to 5-7-2.   ORR must win both remaining matches to qualify for the state tournament.  Both  opponents are vying for the league crown, and both beat ORR in their first meeting.  ORR is riding a three game unbeaten streak that has kept them in contention, and the players are confident that the last two matches will put them into the post season.

Freshman Melvin Vincent II recorded his second shutout since taking over the net for the Bulldogs.  His presence offers the team a confidence that allows them to take chances defensively leading to dangerous counter attacks.  The back four of  Chris Carando, Tyler Hunter, Teddy Costa and Alex Milde played a tenacious brand of defense that held Wareham to 2 shots at goal,  both off target and of no consequence to the outcome of the game.   Combine that with Vincent's presence in the 18, cutting off thru balls and crosses that completely shut down Wareham and allowed him to finish the match without having to handle any shots on goal.

Paul Graves had four chances to make this game ugly for the Vikings.  He mistimed a near perfect cross from Alden Truesdale early in the game that found him standing on the goal line unchallenged. His weak attempt allowed the cross to sail harmlessly out of touch.   In the second half, Graves hunkered down and followed two hard shots on goal that Viking keeper Tyler Russle saved but could not hold allowing a charging Graves the chance to score.  His first attempt hit the crossbar and ricochet out of danger.  Twice more Graves pounced on rebounds only to be denied by some courageous defending by the Vikings defense.

Robby Magee, Alvaro Grothursen, Kevin Noone and Mike Pruchnik all had tries at goal as the hapless Viking defense began to crumble under the constant pressure applied by ORR.

"This game could have been ugly if not for our missed chances" said ORR coach Sullivan"   Wareham decided early on to hunker down for the 0-0 draw and never really came out of that defensive shell even after falling behind" he said.

The Bulldogs travel to Bourne on Monday with the goal of getting one game closer to qualifying for the State Tournament.

ORR 4, Case 0

Still Alive

The Bulldogs kept their post season chances in play with a 4-0 victory over Case in Swansea.  Mike Pruchnik again led the Reds with two goals, assisted by Alvaro and Teddy Costa.  Pruchnik has done this in two consecutive games and is on the doorstep of leading the team in scoring while only playing 70 minutes outside of his goalkeeping position.  His replacement in goal,  Melvin Vincent II has filled Pruchink's shoes in the goal nicely getting his first varsity shut out.

Max Houck opened the scoring heading home a perfectly placed cross from team mate Alden Truesdale.  "Alden is one of the hardest players for teams to contain.  His speed and desire to own the ball causes headaches for defenders and his tenacity has been paying off for us in a big way.  Alden has two goals and three assists in the last two matches," said coach Sullivan. 

Kevin Noone closed out the scoring heading in a corner kick nicely provided by Max Houck.

Things were looking pretty bleak for the Bulldogs as the second half progressed.  "We were not creating things up front and I was worried that Case could get a lucky goal and knock us out of post season play if we didn't speed things up and score. "  said Sullivan.

The speedy buzz saw, Teddy Costa was moved from his defender position to striker.  Things immediately improved for ORR with his speed of play.  Costa kept enough pressure on Case's defense to cause cracks in their back line.  Fifteen minutes into the half Alvaro fed Pruchnick for his first goal of the game.  Four minutes later Pruchnick found himself on Case's end line and tried to send a cross into the goal area.  He miss hit the ball just enough to put a bit of a spin on it causing it to hit the inside of the far post and bounce untouched into the goal.

"We didn't play well today, but it was good enough.  It would be nice to play to our potential every game but that's a lot to ask.  As long as we find a way to win we have a chance at pulling out a post season slot. " (Sullivan)

ORR host Wareham on Thursday 10/18  at 3:30 PM.

ORR 5, Fairhaven 5

"Cruz a  media."   Cross to the middle.  It's a fun game ORR boy's soccer has been playing at the end of practice for the past two weeks.  Today the team played Cruz a media with Fairhaven and scored 4 of their 5 goals.   ORR squander a 4-1 lead and had to scramble in the final minutes to earn the draw.

Mike Pruchnik opened the scoring early in the match heading home a beautifully corner kick from Max Houck. Two minutes later Houck scored during a scramble on the Fairhaven goal line.   In the 21st minute the Reds again played a game of Cruz a med when Alden Truesdale sent a corner kick into the goal mouth and Pruchnik again put it away for the 3-0 lead.    Fairhaven began their comeback a minute later on a mix up in front of keeper Melvin Vincent that left and open goal for Travis Fereira to slot home unchallenged.

The second half began well for the Bulldog's when Alden Truesdale fought off Fairhaven's last defender and let loose a well placed shot that beat keeper Kris Moore cleanly to the far post at the 10 minute mark.   It looked like ORR would coast to a victory with both teams trying unsuccessfully to organize their midfield and mount an attack.

Midway through the second half Fairhaven turned up the heat.  Goals by Sean Masse Josh Nunes and Alex Silva  evened the score with a five minute assault that left the Red's stunned.
Fairhaven had one more charge left and that paid off when Silva scored his second goal with 7 minutes remaining.  The celebrating began for Fairhaven and that would come back to haunt them.

ORR settled down and began take advantage of Fairhaven over confidence with their own assault. The Reds got another chance to try out their new favorite game, Cruz a med.  This time the ball bounced out to Truesdale and he fired the tying goal into the upper corner.   ORR broke into their own celebration but refused to settle for a tie. 

With time running down ORR mounted it's own full out assault. .  With under a minute ORR was awarded a corner kick.   The Reds filled the area with 6'2 Pruchnik, 6'1 Robby Magee, 6'3 Alex Milde, 6'1 Will Santos for one last game of Cruz a med.  As that game dictates, there was a scramble in front of the net, but this time Fairhaven managed to clear the ball out of danger and end the well played, well fought match.

Coach Sullivan  ORR

"Both teams had this game won.  Both coaches are happy to survive with a draw. Being the one who scored the last goal,  I'm probably a little happier than George, (Gomes of Fairhaven)"

"Melvin Vincent played a really good game in net for us.  His command of the goal area took a lot of heat off of our defenders who were under pressure all day.  Not bad for a 13 year old freshman. "

Teddy Costa was a force on defense for most of the game.  His move to offense when ORR was down a goal put enough pressure to crack Fairhaven's defense forcing the corner kick that gave ORR the tie.  His speed and heady play created three golden chances for ORR to come away with the victory but all three breakthroughs were ruled offside eliminating the chances for the win.

ORR 3-7-2 need to win their final four matches to qualify for the post season.  They travel to Case on Monday and Wareham on Thursday.

ORR Refuses to Rebuild

MATTAPOISETT —

This was supposed to be a transition year for the Old Rochester boys soccer team. The boys lost 15 seniors to graduation and those 15 were no slouches – each playing an integral role in the Bulldogs success in capturing a share of the 2011 South Coast Conference title.

Add in the loss of long-time Old Rochester Coach Erich Carroll – who stepped down to pursue his doctorate – and this group had more question marks surrounding it than the New England Patriots offensive line.

But amidst all the doubts, a funny thing has happened in the opening month. With a 3-1-1 record thus far (all in conference play), the Bulldogs have emerged from the pack as the early favorites to repeat as conference champs – a remarkable feat when considering they are returning just four players with varsity experience, all while working in first-year coach John Sullivan.

"The players are progressing nicely, working themselves into fitness and getting comfortable with the ball at their feet,” Sullivan said. "I’m not sure our record indicates where we’re at; I think we should probably have lost to Seekonk in our home-opener (1-0 win) but then again our ties and our one loss were games I thought we should have won. So we could just as easily be 3-1.”

Read more: Old Rochester boys soccer team refuses to rebuild - Marion, MA - Wicked Local Marion http://www.wickedlocal.com/marion/topstories/x346973811/Old-Rochester-boys-soccer-team-refuse-to-rebuild#ixzz295tO5HS5

ORR 0, Seekonk 1

ORR 0  Seekonk 1

ORR drops to 3-6-1

ORR host Dighton Rehobeth on Wednesday 10/10

ORR battled Seekonk to the final whistle in this back and forth night game.   The Bulldogs had the better chances where they created four golden opportunities that were easier to put in the back
of the net that to score. Paul Graves had two chances to be the hero of the match but his timing was off enough that he never got a touch on the ball.   Robbie Magee was a step behind a beautifull cross from Max Houck that was just out of reach for a goal of the year candidate header.   

Late in the game Magee took a cross from Freshman Evan Santos but sent his volley into the arms of Seekonk's keeper.    Minutes later Mike Bliss let loose a cannon that found the Warrior's keeper's chest for the easy no see save.

Seekonk scored the lone goal and the game winner from a corner kick with six minutes remaining, and was able to absorb an all out attack by the Bulldogs. 


Coach John Sullivan

"This was without a doubt our best performance of the season.   We were definitely the better team today but our lack of finishing let this one slip away.   I was very proud of the play today.  The kids displayed a desire to compete and played a strong a game as any coach could ask."

"Freshman keeper Melvin Vincent was superb in the net and the defensive play of CC Carando, Teddy Costa,  Tyler Hunter and Will Santos kept Seekonk off balance and unable to mount any kind of threatening attack."

"Chilean exchange student Alvaro played well up front complimenting the speed of Alden Truesdale and Magee. "

"This game was ours for the taking but we failed to put it away.  Part of the process of playing good soccer is the players must find a way to win.   We know the way, now we need to execute and put the chances away.

ORR 0 Apponequet 4

ORR never mounted any quality chances on attack and the transition from offense to defense and back was not there.  It often looked like the Lakers had many more players on the pitch than the Bulldogs.   They challenged every 50/50 ball.  They chased defensively,  passed and ran circles around ORR offensively.  

The 4-0 scoreline was spot on for this match.

ORR will travel to Seekonk for a 7PM game and will face the Warriors with a much more offensive minded game plan.

The JV play at 5PM

Bus will leave the ORR campus at 3:30.

Voke 3, ORR 1

GNB VOC-TECH 3, OLD ROCHESTER 1

In a South Coast Conference matchup, the Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Josh Medeiros and Nuno Sousa in the first half and held on from there to pick up the victory. ... Robbie McGee scored to open the second half on a penalty kick for the Bulldogs but that was quickly countered a minute later by Josh Edwards to push the Bears back up two. ... Luis Carranza played well in net for Voc-Tech, recording six saves while Helio Vieira, Medeiros and Joe Morehead each added assists. ... Bears coach Henry Andrade also noted strong play from Timmy Amaral at midfield and Austin Ferreira on the defensive end. ... GNB Voc-Tech (4-1-3) visits Bourne on Monday.

ORR 0 Bourne 1

0  ORR  (3-3-1) 
1  Bourne(5-0-1)

Bourne's Nickerson  MacGregor found himself alone in front to ORR's net 5 minutes into the game and easily put home the winner in this close encounter at the home of the Bulldogs in Mattapoisett.

For the remainder of the match the teams took turns assaulting each others territory and on this day it was the goalies that kept each others teams in the game.   Bourne's Michael Froman and ORR's Mike Pruchnick each made stops destined for the back of the net.  Bulldog captain Teddy Costa was sent alone when Max Houck beat Bourne's defense over the top.  Costa tried to lift the bounding ball over the outstretched arms of Froman but the Bourne keeper was able to get a fingertip on the ball to parry it wide.

At the other end, Pruchnik was tested heavily three times in the second half.  He was forced to tip a hard drive by Jack Canktiburg over the cross bar and his sure hands were able to hold two hard drives headed for the upper corner of his net.

In the closing minutes ORR sent everyone forward in an all out charge to get the equalizer.  A couple of miscues and bad decisions by ORR broke down the attacks which let Bourne off the hook and able to hold on for the win.

Coach Sullivan

"We are still a step or two behind the play.  Defensively we are late making challenges for balls that are not only 50/50, but those where we should gain possession easily.  It's a lack of confidence on our part and it's up to the coaching staff to fix this.   We will get to work on that next training session.'

"These are good kids with good upbringings who don't yet have that competitive mindset.   We are working on it". 

ORR 0 D/R 2

The Bulldogs lost their 6th consecutive match to visiting Dighton Rehobeth 2-0.  ORR had enough chances to put this game away early but could not find the back of the net.  Robby Magee, Paul Graves, Elvaro Gruntheson, and Alden Truesdale all had golden opportunities but came up blank.

In the 30th minute D/R's Evan Rosa scored the eventual game winner when the Blues were awarded a free kick from 35 yards out and he easily headed the cross into the empty net when all the Bulldog defense got caught ball watching.  It was a routine cross that should have been easily handled by the Reds.  Unfortunately no one made an attempt to clear the cross or cover Rosa giving him an easy goal.

ORR settled in and made some good offensive forays testing D/R's keeper Ben Evans.  Evans was forced to make two diving saves that managed to deflect two normally sure goals out of danger.   ORR kept the pressure on when Alvaro found himself alone at the top of the 18 but his shot was weak and easily handled by Evans.

In the second half, ORR stepped up the pressure.  In the 55th minute, forward Robby Magee out paced the D/R defense and let loose a shot that beat Evans but rolled wide of the net.   He had a second chance in the 75th minute but his hard shot was right at Evans who smothered it to end the danger.  A minute later Alden Truesdale sent a perfectly place cross that found ORR forward Paul Graves unmarked at the far post.  His header had no zip to it and it fell harmlessly to the ground and was scooped up by Evens to end yet another "sure goal" threat.

The Bulldogs exposed themselves late in the game and gave up a breakaway and D/R put away the insurance goal easily.

Coach Sullivan

"We had three golden chances to put this one away and came up empty.  Scoring has been our Achilles.  We create opportunities but something always goes wrong.  A soft pass, a weak shot, a missed trap, one to many touches,  things like that."

"Through out the season we created opportunities to score lots of goal but only have 12 in eleven matches.  If we capitalized on just a few of those we would be preparing for the state tournament."

"Great team find a way to win.  We haven't solved that yet and I fear we have run out of time".

ORR travels to Fairhaven on Friday. 

ORR 0 Apponequet 2

APPONEQUET 2, OLD ROCHESTER 0

Apponequet controls second half to take down Old Rochester

LAKEVILLE — Old Rochester and Apponequet played to a draw in the first 40 minutes but the second half was all Lakers as they controlled the play with their passing and defense en route to a 2-0 home victory on Wednesday. Garret McNeil broke the scoreless tie early in the second half off a corner kick from Sean Cunningham and Cunningham later capped the scoring with a goal on a cross from Matt Magalhaes.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Lakers used strong defense and solid ball movement to earn a South Coast Conference victory. The win pushes Apponequet to 4-0-1 in the conference and overall while the Bulldogs fall to 3-2-1 in the conference and overall.

APPONEQUET COACH TREVOR GAGNIER: "This was a good win for us, they played us very tough in the first half, but in the second we played a lot better as a team. We had better spacing and overall played very well defensively. We've had some very good play on both ends put us into a position of where we are now so we just need to keep it going."

OLD ROCHESTER COACH JOHN SULLIVAN: "We are still a team of two halves. We had the better of the play in the first 40 minutes but came up blank at the break and they wore us down in the second half and we began making mistakes and giving them quality chances. We weren't much of a threat in the second half but simply lost to a better team."

NOTES: Skyler Cowley recorded six saves in net en route to his third shutout of the season. ... Apponequet hosts Fairhaven on Friday. ... Old Rochester hosts Bourne on Monday.

ORR 3 Wareham 1

   At Wareham

ORR 3,  Wareham 1

ORR.  Teddy Costa,  Max Houck,  Robby Magee
Wareham.  Arthur Mpofo

Old Rochester improved to 3-1-1 with a sloppy 3-1 victory over the Vikings of Wareham.   Wareham's Arthur Mpofo opened the scoring 30 seconds into the match with his tenacious play inside ORR's 18.  His cross careened off defender Chris Carando toward keeper Mike Pruchnik who tried to catch the wildly spinning ball.  Pruchnik lost his concentration dropping the ball behind him and knocking it into his own net giving Wareham a short lived lead.

It only took nine minutes for ORR to even things up when Teddy Costa scored his fifth goal in three games by taking a feed from Junior Captain, Robby Magee.  Max Houck scored the eventual game winner in the 25th minute when he collect a cross from Freshman defender Will Santos beating Wareham keeper Tyler Russell cleanly into the upper 90. 

The first half of the game was played pretty evenly as the 2-1 score indicates.   Wareham used the wind effectively to keep ORR at bay.  When the Bulldogs played intelligent, good things began to happen.  Early passes created opportunities for a lopsided goal differential and if not for Viking keeper Russsell this one would not have been close.  ORR out shot Wareham by a lopsided 21-2 advantage.  Many of the shots were on target but lacked the pace to beat Russell, but when it counted he came up big, stopping two point blank cannon shots by Paul Graves and one shot by Magee destined for the back of the net.   

As the wind picked up, the quality of play deteriorated with the players having a tough go of it trying to control their passes.    ORR adjusted late in the game switching to a more finesse game of short passes that in the 66th minute found Magee alone 22 yards in front the Wareham's goal.  Magee beat one defender with ease and let loose a cracker of a shot that gave Russell no chance of saving.

Coach Comments:

"Teddy Costa is a work horse on offense.  He frustrates opposing defender with his harassing play.  He is learning how to use his speed more intelligently and that is getting him lots of chances evidenced by his scoring the last three games.  I have no hesitation in awarding him the player of the game today.  No one else was close"

"Paul Graves, our other forward is beginning to find his form.  When he plays with confidence he is very dangerous.  He is right on the edge of a breakthrough and when that happens he is going to get lots of goals.

Chris Carando was a force in the defensive line today.  His calm personality and physical play are vital parts of the rookie defense that is still in a learning curve. 








JV.

Kyle Medeiros and Bret Noone  each scored 2 goals to lead the Bulldog JV squad to an 8-0 victory. 
Hunter Parker, Ryan Taylor,  Rocky Silva and Emil Assing each added a tally to salt away the win.

Old Rochester travels to Apponequet on Wednesday Sept. 19.

ORR 4, Case 0

ORR  record   2-1-1

Score    Teddy Costa   unassisted             5th  minute

             Teddy Costa   (Will Santos)        63rd minute

             Mike Bliss     (Max Houck)        65th minute

             Robby Magee (Chris Carando)  73rd minute

ORR stuck quickly in the opening minutes when Senior Captain Teddy Costa pounced on a Case miscue 30 yards from goal.  He worked his way past three defender and let lose a bending shot from a very difficult angle to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead that lasted well into the second half.   Like the two previous matches, ORR had many opportunities to end this one early but again the goal became and elusive target. 

With 20 minutes left in the match Max Houck and Robby Magee took charge of the midfield and turned up the speed of the game a few notches.  Case could not find any answers and lost their defensive organization which left Costa alone in front of the net to head home a perfectly placed cross from Freshman defender  Will Santos.   From then on it was all ORR sending wave after wave of attacks that lead to the final two goals from Magee and Houck.

Coach John Sullivan
"The team took the field with heart and confidence today.  They played hard and are showing signs of creative play making.   There were lots of good ideas that didn't pan out and it was very gratifying to
see the players making the right decisions.  It won't be long before those decisions begin to pay off and the team will be playing really good football".

"I have to also compliment our rookie back line of Alex Milde, Chris Carando and Tyler Hunter.   Their collective play is making it very difficult for the opposition to mount any formidable threat on our goal.  The few times anything got through keeper Mike Pruchnik was there to keep the shutout. "


ORR travel to Wareham on Tuesday for a 3:30 match originally scheduled

ORR 3, Fairhaven 3

BOYS SOCCER: OLD ROCHESTER 3, FAIRHAVEN 3

Blue Devils won't quit

ROCHESTER —The Old Rochester boys soccer team led at three different times in Wednesday's South Coast Conference matchup with Fairhaven, but each time the Blue Devils had an answer, leading to the 3-3 tie.

WHAT IT MEANS: In an early season matchup, the Blue Devils and Bulldogs appear evenly matched both offensively and defensively.

OLD ROCHESTER COACH JOHN SULLIVAN: "We had full control of the match in the first half keeping Fairhaven on it's heels. Thing got really bad really fast in the second half, and we got into a funk that we couldn't overcome. Fairhaven took advantage and completely dominated the second half. We were very lucky to get out of this one with a draw and have some serious gut checking to do at training tomorrow."

Fairhaven coach Georges gomes: "They led the whole time and we kept catching up."

SOUTHCOastVarsiTy.com star of the game: Old Rochester's Teddy Costa notched two goals.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Alec Dompierre's goal tied the game at 3.

Old Rochester STATS: Teddy Costa (two goals) and Paul Graves (one goal).

Fairhaven STATS: Alec Dompierre (one goal and one assist), Duarte Jacob (one goal) and Kyle Everett (one goal).

NOTES: Old Rochester is back in action on Friday when it hosts Case at 3:30. ... Fairhaven (2-1-1, 2-0-1 SCC) visits Bourne on Friday at 3:30.


The JV team lost a heart breaker 3-2.   

ORR 0, Dighton Rehobeth 3

The Bulldogs attacked quickly and often in the opening minutes of this match.   Three breakaways failed to produce a shot at the goal.   That became the theme of the game.  Dighton Rehobeth stuck with their three man back line and ORR continually sent balls over the top sending wave after wave of players alone on goal.

In the fifth minute DR set up an attack on the right side.  ORR failed to close down DR's #10 Ben Masse who let lose a low drive that struck the inside far post and ricocheted across the goal.  Keeper Mike Pruchnik was not able to stop the slow rolling ball from crossing the goal line behind him.

In the second half ORR moved defender Teddy Costa to central striker and the Reds again began pressing the DR defense continually beating them over the top and again unable to be creative enough to get a shot off.

Fifteen minutes into the half DR's Patrick Gouveia sent a long throw in toward goal.  It sailed over everyone catching keeper Pruchnik off balance.  He stuck up his hand  enough to touch the ball as is sailed into the net.  Without that touch the goal would be called back and a goal kick awarded.    Two minuted later DR scored their third of the game using the same play.  This time Nate Swartz managed to redirect the ball into the far corner off the long throw.

With just under 20 minutes to play,  Teddy Costa was sent on yet another break away but shot early trying to beat DR's Keeper Ben Evans, who came 10 yards off his line, by chipping over him.   Costa sent the ball wide and high.    In the 70th minute Costa again beat the defense and this time decide to hold the ball for a close shot.  DR's last defender Iwaniec Wojiech took Costa down from behind resulting in a red card and penalty kick.  Captain Teddy Costa sent the kick high into the upper stands.  

ORR continually pressed and had chances to pull this game out of the bag.   Luck and skill were not on their side and the barrage of opportunities were squandered high, wide or weak on goal.

ORR 1, Seekonk 0

Alex Milde send a rainbow cross toward the Seekonk goal  in the 62nd minute from 40 yards to give ORR it's opening day victory.

In the first half Seekonk dominated the offensive play out hustling ORR time and again.  The Warriors continually broke through the Reds defense only to squander their chances at goal.  Two good saves by Mike Pruchnik, a cross bar and a missed penalty allowed ORR to break at the half tied 0-0.

The second half saw most of the play in midfield with neither team threatening.  The humidity was beginning to take it's toll on the players with many suffering the effects of mild dehydration.   Midway through the half the Bulldogs began to take charge of this contest.  Robby Magee and Max Houck took charge of the midfield using skillful runs and passes that kept Seekonk in their own half of the field.  That also gave the Red's defense some much needed rest after they withstood a relentless Warrior attack for most of the game.

In the 62nd minute Alex Milde took control of the ball 40 yards from goal on the right side.  He saw a streaking Paul Grave making a run to the far post and sent a long high ball in that direction.  Milde over hit it and the cross caught keeper Andrw Platt too far out of his net.  The ball dropped into the far corner surprising everyone, none more so than Alex.

 "This was my first varsity goal, and it felt pretty good", he said.

With 10 minutes remaining,  Seekonk went all out to get the equalizer.  They nearly succeeded when forward Alex Branco beat keeper Pruchnik to a bouncing ball and headed it over the keeper's reach.  As the ball slowly bounded toward ORR's net, defender Tyler Hunter sprinted back and cleared it out of danger just as it approached the goal line preserving the shutout win.

The Bulldogs travel to Dighton Rehobeth on Monday for a 3:30 match.

Home Opener V Seekonk

Jr. captain Robby Magee

The Bulldogs face Seekonk in the home opener Friday September 7 at 3:30 PM.   Both teams were hit hard by graduation which puts this game up for grabs.    The Reds have trained hard and are ready to go all in for this match.

Forward Paul Graves could be the difference because when he lets go with a shot there is not a keeper in the league who can stop him.  Steven Burke has come a long way and has earned a starting spot along side of Graves.

 Junior captain Robby Magee and Senior captain Max Houck with try to control the midfield keeping Seekonk on their heals and in a panic trying to shut down this experienced duo. They are supported by Alden Truesdale, Kevin Noone and Mike Bliss.



The defense is anchored by Jr. Mike Pruchnik in net with a rapidly improving back four of Tyler Hunter, Alex Milde, Chris Carando and captain Teddy Costa in front of him.   Mike Barrus, Tyler Zell and Evan Lacombe will play a supporting roll in defense.

Two late additions to the Varsity roster Melvin Vincent and Ryan Beatty should also see significant playing time.

Graves Leads ORR To A 3-2 Win at Dennis Yarmouth

The Bulldogs fell behind twice before Paul Graves created some magic 25 yards out and let lose a quick no look shot to put the Reds up for good with a mere 7 minutes remaining in the final tuneup of the preseason.

Bourne took an early lead on a defensive mix up midway through the first quarter.  Eight minutes later Paul Graves returned the favor scoring his first of two goals during a scramble in front of the Dolphins net.  Late in the second half, D/Y struck again by slotting a shot past keeper Mike Pruchnik after being allowed a breakaway following some sloppy defending.

In the second half, ORR began to take control of the match as the team began to gel and start to work together to create many opportunities for shots.  The timing is still off offensively, but even to the most casual observer, the creativity and ideas are in place.

Midway through the half,  Captain midfielder Robby Magee feigned left, went right and let lose a cannon of a curve ball  into the upper corner leaving the Dolphin keeper stranded with no chance of making the save.  The Dolphins tried to attack but were continually thwarted by a vastly improving Bulldog back four of Chris Corando,  Alex Milde,  Tyler Hunter and Ted Costa.  Mike Barrus and Tyler Zell round out the defense filling as defensive midfield and outside back nicely when called upon.

With time running out, Graves, with his back to the goal, took a through pass, turned beat his defender cleanly and let loose the winner.

The Junior Varsity put themselves in a rut and ended the first half down 2-0.   After a half time soul searching  talk by the team leaders, the Reds took the field with a burning desire to take control of this match.  Take control they did by scoring 5 unanswered goals and boarded the bus with a 5-2 win and a banana.



The team will travel to Apponequet on September 5th for the season opener at 3:30 PM.

Schedule

The Costa's will be the team liaison between the team and the parents.  Everyone is encouraged to get on their e-mail contact list.  The team will receive a handout after the road trip on Wednesday.

For the official Boy's Soccer Schedule   click here

For the South Coast Conference sports schedule click here

ORR/Old Colony Scrimmage

The varsity team redeemed themselves after a dismal result in the New Bedford High Invitaional on Saturday by defeating the Cougars of Old Colony 5-1.   The JV squad also had a good showing beating OCV 2-1.

Both teams travel to Dennis Yarmouth on Wednesday for the final tune up before the season opener next week.

Both teams are displaying rapid improvement in their technical games and are beginning to show the tactical awareness that will give them chances to win matches.  

Pre Season

It's finally here.    Pre season sessions begin on Thursday August 23 at 8:30 AM.   Players are expected to be ready to begin working at that time.   This means that players need to begin warming up on their own before the practice start time.   

NO SHOOTING ON GOAL before practice.

That  is the most critical time for groin, hamstring and quad injuries. 

DON'T SHOOT ON GOAL BEFORE PRACTICE.    Stay as late as you want if you need to get extra shooting practice.

All players need a red and white shirt for scrimmages. 

 Our first Varsity scrimmage is Saturday and the bus leaves the school at 9AM sharp.     Monday the 27th Old Colony is coming to our house and on Wednesday both Varsity and JV will board the bus for a 2:15 departure to Dennis Yarmouth.

A student cannot practice until all the paperwork is done.   Everything now has to be turned in to the AD's office and the player must get clearance from that office to participate.

The Schedule for Thursday August, 23.
  Session 1

8:30-8:45    Introduction of coaches and players followed by a short recap of expectations and
                   systems of play.

8:45-9:00    Individual  techniques incorporated into warmup drills.

9:00-9:30    Fitness.     Circle Drill,  L Agility,  Dortman fitness

9:30-10:00    6v6 games.


 Session 2

3:00-3:15    Warmup

3:15-3:30    Passing patterns

3:30-4:00   Intro to 4-4-2 system of play.    Crossing and Shooting

4:00-4:30  Small sided games.   

2012 Season Begins

2012 Old Rochester Boy’s Soccer

Welcome to the 2012 Old Rochester Boys Soccer Program.   I have been appointed to take over the program from Coach Carroll while he pursues his Doctorate and will be assisted by Kyle Fertig.  Geoff Kelsey will again coach the JV team.

Whaler Camp runs from August 13^th thru the 17^th at the Mariner Complex in Fairhaven nightly from 5-8 PM.    Camp brochures can be downloaded from the photos section of our Facebook page or players can register at the camp.

Players should bring the following to camp.  

1gallon of water

a towel

repellent

shin guards

a change of shirt.

Each player needs to send me and e-mail with the following information

Name

e-mail address (if different than the sent from address). 

cell phone

class    Fr. So. Etc.

send to:  johninfairhaven@yahoo.com

Players and parents need to register with our text alert system so we can contact everyone in case of any changes, emergencies or late arrivals when returning from road games.

Text BULDOGS to 84483 to receive alerts from Old Rochester Soccer.

We have a Facebook page and a publicity blog.

ORR Boy’s Soccer on Facebook

http://orrsoccer.blogspot.com

We begin pre season training with double sessions on Aug. 23^rd and 24^th.
The morning sessions are 8:30-10:00 AM
Second sessions are 3:00-430 PM

Varsity will play in the New Bedford High School Invitational on Aug  25^th.  This is an all day affair with multiple short duration games.

Varsity and JV will travel to Barnstable for a scrimmage after school on the 29^th.   Bus will leave promptly at 2:15.