Sachem East’s Rodrigo Alvarez’s OT goal keys win over Ward Melville

Sachem East’s James Schneider slipped a brilliant pass into Ward Melville’s penalty area, finding Rodrigo Alvarez with less than a minute to go in a tied Suffolk League I boys soccer match.

Alvarez’s shot, however, rang off the inside of the far post. Shortly after, the whistle blew, indicating the end of the second half.

However, in varsity soccer, that doesn’t mean the end of the game.

“I felt so much frustration, because I didn’t know there would be an extra half,” Alvarez said.

Shortly into the first 10-minute overtime period, Jaxson Weber lofted a pass to Alvarez who suddenly had the ball at his feet again, almost exactly where he was at the end of regulation. Only this time, with two Ward Melville defenders on his back, Alvarez steadied himself and slipped the ball into the right corner to give Sachem East a 2-1 home win over Ward Melville Wednesday in its league season opener.

“In the moment, I had the goalkeeper in front, and I was laughing because I knew it would be a goal,” Alvarez said. “When I was running to celebrate, I was excited. It was like a dream.”

It capped off a strong Sachem East performance that ended far better than it began. Ward Melville’s Jack Salgado, who won numerous tackles in his first game back from a season-ending injury in 2024, scored less than 13 minutes into the first half to give the Patriots an early lead.

“Ward Melville outworked us for the first 25 minutes of the game,” coach Matt Stallone said. “They played hard all game long, and we matched their intensity as the game went on, which is great. It enabled us to claw back into it.”

Sachem East enjoyed much better build-up play in the second half through Schneider and Weber in the middle of the field. After seeing zero corners through the game’s first 40 minutes, Sachem East earned seven in the second half.

The pressure soon paid off. Weber perfectly placed the team’s fifth corner across the 6-yard box for centerback Sean Albanesi, who powered a header to equalize in the 61st minute.

Albanesi and fellow senior centerback  Dominick Marchi tto did well to contain Ward Melville in the second half, allowing just one shot on target, which didn’t threaten goalie Alan Porada.

“I think scoring the goal helped the team have more energy, which allowed us to move the ball better,” Albanesi said. “Our defense was a lot more solid.”