Boys Soccer: Undefeated Open Door plays Amherst to tie

AMHERST — Open Door, ranked No. 2 in Division V, hasn't backed away from anyone this year, and that includes stepping up a weight class to take on Amherst at Spitzer Stadium on Monday night. The Patriots clung to a 2-1 lead at the half, but Amherst got the equalizer early in the second half. Despite several scoring chances, neither team could add to its total, with the non-conference matchup ending in a 2-2 draw. The Patriots are 11-0-1. "We put this on the calendar a year ago because we knew it would be a week or two before the playoffs started and they would give us a heck of a game, and it was a heck of a game," Open Door coach Joel Baker said. "Obviously it's great preparation for our playoffs and I really appreciate them having us." The Comets (7-4-2) drew first blood after Matthew Hammond had a pair of point-blank shots turned away by Patriots goalie Liam Coughlin. After the second stop, the ball trickled to Coughlin's right, where junior Jediael Taylor, an Open Door transfer, was able to beat the goalie to the ball, poking it into the net with 27:09 left in the first half for his first varsity goal. After several minutes of back-and-forth action, the Patriots grabbed a 2-1 lead with a pair of goals in a four-minute span. The first came at 11:21 from freshman midfielder Flynn Yoho, who beat a defender going to his right and got the ball past the goalkeeper. In the 32nd minute, Open Door put on a passing clinic for its second score as Brayden Bendik sent the ball to the middle from the left wing to Liam Bores, who touched it over to the right to Joel Pruitt, who had a wide-open net to go up 2-1. The score stayed there nearly 10 minutes into the second half until Landon Boone made a long run from midfield down the right side and got off a shot at the 30:57 mark of the second half that found the net to tie things at 2, setting up a mad scramble the rest of the way. Each team had three chances to take the lead down the stretch. Boone had a second chance right after his goal, but the shot went wide left. Teagan Debronsky's shot at 16:50 was saved as was a shot by Jaxon Perez with 7:30 left. Bendik and Yoho had solid shots stopped midway through the second half, and Bores took a pass from Bendik with a clean shot, but the ball banged off the right post and out of harm's way as the teams settled for a tie. "I know they are a small school, but their coach has them organized and they all are playing at a high level," Comets coach Brett Thompson said. "I thought it was about as even a game as you could get. There were chances at both ends and everyone was making plays at both ends offensively and defensively. That had to be a great game to watch." Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com.