PUBLISHED BY MOSHOLU PRESERVATION CORPORATION

Evander Makes the Big Dance

By ALEX KRATZ

Evander Childs’ do-everything Jamaican superstar, Mario Rainey, danced through the last 10 minutes of the Bronx Championship last Tuesday at his home field, a game the Tigers won 2-0 over cross-borough rival Truman.

First, Rainey danced through Truman’s usually stout defense, absolutely abusing two overmatched defenders with a killer step-over move and unleashing a game-clinching shot that the forward buried into the lower right-hand netting.

Up 2-0 and with the game firmly in hand, Rainey, 18, then spent the final minutes joking with teammates and just plain dancing.

The 18-year-old striker had earned the right to celebrate after leading the league in scoring during the season and almost single-handedly putting the Tigers in position to gain a number one seed and a first-round bye in the city playoffs.

It was sweet redemption for the Tigers who lost to Truman (one of only two defeats for Evander) earlier in the season, 3-0, in Co-op City. Evander finished the regular season 12-2.

Coach Toma Gojcevic, who returned to coaching Evander this year after a two-year hiatus, said his team is loaded with talent, but lacked chemistry and fought amongst each other at times during the season.

After last Tuesday’s performance against Truman, Gojcevic’s international crew, which includes players from Jamaica, Ecuador, Columbia and Africa, may be peaking at just the right time. After losing to Truman on Sept. 29, the Tigers have reeled off seven straight wins, including Tuesday’s victory and a hard-fought win over Lehman (the only other team Evander has lost to).

The Tigers are set to play Lab Museum United, a lower Manhattan school, on Thursday, Nov. 2, the day this paper comes out.

In the stands last Tuesday, Evander fans stood on their feet, pressing themselves against the front row railing for the entire action-packed second half.

The Tigers had taken a 1-0 lead on a header by Rainey in the first half, but found themselves on the defensive to begin the second.

Truman relentlessly pressured the Evander defense, which was content to stay back and protect its slim lead. Rainey even moved back from his forward spot and positioned himself behind the midfield. The result was a barrage of Truman shots, two of which bounced of the goal posts, causing gasps from the crowd.

But it was Truman’s all-out attack that would be its undoing. Rainey received the ball on a quick counter attack, started hearing the music and the rest is history.

After the game, Evander players exploded with excitement in the tiny locker room just off the playing field – hugging, screaming, dancing, laughing in celebration.

Gojcevic interrupted the celebration to say, “I take back every bad thing I said about you ugly mugs!” And then the celebration continued.

The soccer regular season wrapped up last week. Here’s a quick wrap-up of area teams.

Competing in the tough Bronx “A” division with powerhouses Evander, Lehman and Truman, Walton ended the season with two ties and finished with respectable a 5-7-2 record.

Also in the “A” division, DeWitt Clinton upset top division foe Truman on Oct. 20, but then lost its final two contests and fell to 4-9-1.

Playing in the smaller Bronx “B” division, John F. Kennedy was a juggernaut this year, finishing 11-1. The JFK Knights were a number two seed in the city playoffs, where they faced Manhattan-based Bayard Rustin at home in the first round on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

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