Ferraro’s game-winner gives Unionville double overtime victory over Great Valley

EAST MARLBOROUGH – There was no doubt in Peter Ferraro’s mind he was going to shoot once he received the pass from Unionville teammate Sam Alfonsi.

Ferraro wasn’t thinking about scoring the game-winning goal. Instead, he envisioned helping his team earn an important Ches-Mont win over a team his squad has not beaten in four years.

“Great Valley is one of our biggest opponents,’ Ferraro said. “We needed that win. Beating a team like that is huge.’

Ferraro scored the game-winning goal with 7:43 remaining in the second overtime to give Unionville a 3-2 win over Great Valley in a Ches-Mont American Division boys soccer thriller Wednesday afternoon.

The goal, Ferraro’s ninth of the season, came off a counterattack led by Sam Alfonsi, who dribbled past midfield on the right side. Alfonsi saw Ferraro open on the right wing past two Great Valley defenders. He wasn’t missing him.

“I see Pete on the numbers and he makes that run inside…I have to hit him on the feet,’ Alfonsi said. “From there, he took it all the way and we’re celebrating. It’s a huge win for us.’

Ferraro’s winner capped a dominant overtime session for Unionville, who remained unbeaten in the Ches-Mont (7-0-0 league, 21 points). The Indians have a nine-point lead over Great Valley (4-3-0 league, 12 points) with six league games remaining.

The Patriots gave Unionville all it could handle for the entire match with constant pressure and clutch goals.

While Great Valley could not capitalize on two early corners, Austin Wilk scored on a counterattack in the ninth minute to give the Patriots a 1-0 lead. The deficit was Unionville’s first of the season.

But the Indians didn’t panic.

In the 17th minute, Alex Anderson dribbled into the box and was tackled on the shot by two Great Valley defenders. Tim Yarosh took the penalty kick and put the ball past Patriots keeper Aidan Claffey to tie it 1-1.

Late in the half, the Indians took their first lead off the feet of Anderson. His cross set Aiden Walsh up for a shot to the far post. Walsh beat Claffey to give Unionville a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.

Great Valley controlled possession late in the second half trying to force overtime. That strategy paid off.

Jack Hajnik received a through pass and took a shot toward the far left post, which beat Unionville keeper Henry Shafer to tie it 2-2 in the 76th minute to force overtime.

From that point, Unionville controlled the remainer of the game until Ferraro capped off the win with his goal. Even though Great Valley gave Unionville its biggest test of the season to date, head coach Dave Moffitt felt his team left plenty of scoring chances on the field.

“We played very well, but unfortunately got a little unlucky,’ Moffitt said. “We need to finish the opportunities that we create. Obviously, I’m not happy with the result because it wasn’t indicative of how well we played.’

On the other side, Ferraro admitted he never imagined he’d be close reaching double digits in goals at the beginning of the year, but he’s having a special season.

Similar to what seems to be happening for Unionville soccer.

“I just knew we were going to get a result today with the way we played in overtime,’ Ferraro said. “I have been working on finishing with my coach since last season and just been working hard since than. It paid off today.’