The soccer teams from Eastchester and Harrison kicked off their league schedules on Sept. 14, as the Eagles and Huskies squared off in a hotly anticipated tilt at McGillicuddy Field. And although visiting Eastchester was able to come away with a 2-1 victory, the back-and-forth nature of the contest may portend a heated battle for the league title this fall.

Coming into Tuesday’s bout, Eastchester head coach Darwin Gramajo said that his team was fully aware of the importance of this early-season matchup, especially considering the general difficulty in securing league wins against League II-B’s deep field of opponents. 

“We have goals and one of those goals is to win the league, so obviously you want to start well,” said Gramajo. “And for the boys, this just builds confidence because this league is one of the toughest leagues.”

The Huskies drew first blood on Tuesday, as Johnny Antolino scored on a counter in the opening minutes to help his squad take a 1-0 lead. But the Eagles, un-phased by the deficit, quickly took control of the game, dominating the time of possession until they were able to break through on a Ryan Bochenko penalty kick after the Huskies were called for a handball in the box with 21 minutes left in the half. 

Although Gramajo was pleased with the way his team responded to the Huskies’ goal, he said he is hoping to see faster starts from his squad in the future. 

“We have a large number of seniors, and they’ve been in situations like this, so that helps,” he said. “But sometimes we have lapses . . . they need to be down and then they want to wake up; the idea for us, to get to that next level, is to start going all out right from the beginning.”

For the next 47 minutes, the two sides traded scoring chances, until the Eagles finally broke through with 14 minutes left to play. 

Collecting the ball on the right side, senior Rintaro Miyawaki dribbled through a host of Harrison defenders and fired a shot on net. Kai Asakawa was in front of the net to bury the rebound, putting Eastchester on top for good. 

Gramajo praised Miyawaki’s efforts as a catalyst on the play, and said that the senior’s ability to confound defenses should be a strength for the Eagles in coming games.  

“We know he’s a very special player; in a situation like that he was able to take on four or five guys,” he said. “Him being able to do that makes us a very tough team to beat.”

Tuesday’s game kicks off a long stretch of League II-B games for both squads over the next few weeks, with the lone exception being Harrison’s Sept. 27 bout with Nanuet. But with their first league win under their belts, Gramajo believes the Eagles should be ready for the rest of a challenging slate. 

“We had a couple of missed passes where [Harrison] was able to counter, but we built confidence,” he said. “It’s coming along, and this was good for us as we’re about to start a difficult part of the schedule.”