CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Commerce boys soccer team Monday converted a free kick in the 74th minute to thwart a second half comeback by Hoosac Valley and earn a 2-2 tie against the Hurricanes.
Dylan Rohlfs and Ian Godfrey each scored second half goals for Hoosac Valley to erase a half-time deficit and give the hosts a 2-1 lead in the 70th minute.
But four minutes after Godfrey's go-ahead goal, the Hurricanes were whistled for tripping a Commerce forward on the left wing about 20 yards from the goal.
On the ensuing direct free kick, Ulber Ortiz lifted the ball over the Hurricanes' wall and into the upper 90 just out of reach of Hoosac Valley keeper Wesley Emerson (10 saves).
"Every team you play has that one kid who can score a set piece from 21-22 yards every single time, and they always seem to do it," Hoosac Valley coach Patrick Mahoney said. "It was a really nice shot. As soon as he hit it, you could see it was curling in. You're almost hoping for a gust of wind or something at that point.
"There's not much you can do to stop those. Really great shot."
And it took a really great effort for the Hurricanes to get back in the game after being dominated in the first 40 minutes.
Hoosac Valley spent most of the first half locked into its half of the field. The only exceptions came on through balls up the wings for Rohlfs, but Commerce did a good job of stopping those plays, limiting Hoosac Valley to just one first-half shot on goal.
At the other end, Emerson stopped seven first-half shots.
But Commerce broke through in the 28th minute with its first set-piece goal of the afternoon. Derick Morales sent a corner kick into the 6 from the left wing, and Ortiz headed the ball into the goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
That is where it stood until midway through the second half, when a change in tactics from Hoosac Valley finally paid dividends.
"We tried something a little different tactically [to start the game] that didn't work out as well as I would have hoped," Mahoney said. "We got into half-time and were able to adjust it and looked more like our old self."
Rather than focusing on those big runs by Rohlfs, Hoosac Valley came out with a more balanced approach offensively that utilized more weapons in the second half.
"We knew how they were going to play, and it was pretty direct, and Commerce has some good players," Mahoney said. "They can combine if you give them space and hurt you. So there's a balancing act to try to figure out how we could have the most amount of cover defensively and still be a threat going forward.
"We did finally find the balance in the final 40."
About 24 minutes into the second half, Godfrey took a pass in the middle of the offensive half from David Scholz and one-timed the ball to Rohlfs on the left side. Rohlfs beat a defender into the 18 and slotted a shot into the back of the net to the tie the game, 1-1.
Six minutes later, Drew Norcross set up Godfrey for a goal to put the Hurricanes ahead, 2-1.
But Commerce settled down after that and made one more good push into Hoosac Valley's zone, resulting in the foul that led to the equalizer.
Hoosac Valley (6-4-2), which won at Commerce earlier this season, will look to snap a three-game winless streak on Tuesday when it hosts Putnam Vocational.
