Men's Soccer: Maidstone Upset in 7-on-7

    Going into last night’s games at East Hampton’s Herrick Park, Hampton F.C.-Bill Miller led the Wednesday evening 7-on-7 men’s soccer league with a 5-2-0 mark, though the Hideaway, thanks to a 3-1 upset of perennial-champion Maidstone Market on June 12, was right behind, at 4-2-1.

    The Market, whose entry in an 11-on-11 league at Calverton is undefeated, was in third place, along with Tortorella Pools, each with 4-3-0 marks. Tuxpan, which played Bill Miller tough in a 1-0 loss on the 12th, was in fifth place, and Bateman Painting, a former champion, was last, at 1-5-1.

    Maidstone, whose players are sporting Aston Villa-type jerseys donated by Randy Lerner of Amagansett, Aston Villa’s owner, was not quite its usual self in the showdown with the Hideaway. Part of the reason, according to the Hideaway’s manager, Donald Nunez, is that Alex Meza, Maidstone’s former goalie, arguably the top one in the league, now plays with Bill Miller.

    Gehider Garcia broke the ice, putting a 14-yard shot by the Hideaway’s keeper, Quique Araya, though the Hideaway, which dominated play in the second half, was to come back, with goals by Romulo Tubatan, from about 15 yards out, which tied it, and by Edwin Robles, on feeds from Cristian and Marco Bautista.

    Tubatan’s equalizer came after Marco Bautista stole the ball from the Market’s center midfielder, Diego Marles. Robles bicycle-kicked his first goal in, beating Maidstone’s onrushing keeper, Corey DeRosa, to the far right corner of the nets. Robles’s clincher came near the end of regulation after Fabian Arias had blocked a Maidstone shot and had sent a long pass up the field to Marco Bautista, who got the assist.

    “Marco and Cristian are new — otherwise, we’ve got the same guys we had last year,” Nunez said afterward. “This was the first time we played Maidstone. We were on top of them in the second half.”

    In other action that night, Bill Miller, as aforesaid, edged Tuxpan 1-0 as the result of Oscar Reinoso’s 18-yard direct penalty kick in the early going, and Tortorella defeated Bateman Painting 4-2. Alex George, Eddie Lopez, and David Rodriguez (two) scored for Tortorella. Jonathan Lizano scored Bateman’s goals.