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Sports

Sachem North Edges Out Eastport-South Manor, 1-0

David Stroh's penalty kick made all the difference for Tuesday night's non-leaguer.

Everyone's faces said it all, lighting up like Christmas morning in near-unison when the referee made the call on an Eastport-South Manor hand ball during Tuesday night's boys soccer matchup at Fred Fusaro Alumni Stadium.

Of course, the support of the Sachem North fans in the stands didn't hurt, as David Stroh set up the ball, sized up his shot and hooked in a penalty kick past ESM's goalkeeper at the 65th minute for the lone score of the non-league match.

"I just wanted to stay focused and put it away," said Stroh, cool, calm and collected between sips after leaving the field swarmed by congratulating teammates for his contribution.

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Low-scoring but relentlessly high-speed and physical, North had a number of chances just miss their mark. In the first half, a particularly close one dropped in ESM's box around the 33rd minute off a corner kick. The ball was cleared though ESM remained captive in their territory as North kept the pressure steady with strong backfield work pushing the loose ball back up to its offense, as a chaotic choir of vuvuzelas and screams blared and cheered the Flaming Arrows on. 

RELATED: 2010 Sachem North Boys Soccer Preview

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"That kept us going," said North forward Marlon Peregrina of the support from Sachem's stands. "That was the best part of the night. ESM was tough and we had the two previous losses, so we knew we had to get this one. If we let down our energy for a minute, they would have scored on us."

"It was very high-energy, but at times we don't execute well," Sachem head coach Chris Russo said afterward. 

At halftime he and assistant coach Cory Albertina both expressed dissatisfaction with the team's awareness of potential counterattacks and its ability to capitalize on the deeper possessions. 

"The effort is there, but the game is up for grabs," he told his team. "They have just a good a chance of winning as you do. But we do have the fitness, and if we can keep running them up and down the field we'll have a chance."

And they did have more than one, outpacing ESM to the ball at the crucial times on both fronts. A close chance at the 48th minute from the left side of the box by Eric D'Alessandro went wide, as did a point-blank hookup by Peregrina to Bryan Carlesso on the right side of the goal, sustaining a finger injury as he jumped for possession between an ESM defender and the goalpost. Russo said it likely wouldn't impact his ability to play, though his approach was wait-and-see for the moment. Carlesso left the game immediately after the injury on the ref's whistle. 

North goalie David Markose tallied three saves, two of which happened back-to-back on an ESM mini-spree that eventually fizzled as North's defense started squeezing back but resulted in two shots on goal - the first from inside the box, the second from just outside - within forty seconds of each other during the 58th minute.

North hits the road Thursday to play League II leader Northport at 4 p.m.

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