High School Soccer

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Brentwood will play for its first state title since 1989 because Joseph Lopez scored his second-goal with 1:00 left in overtime in a pass from Hancell Guevara to give the Indians a 2-1 win over Baldwinsville (Section III). Brentwood plays Section VI's Clarence at 1 p.m. in the final.

Comsewogue beat Mohonasen 6-0 to advance to play Section I's Harrison at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow in the final. Keith Vigorito had two goals and an assist and Mackie Magoulas had a goal and two assists.

CHSAA FINAL

No. 1 St. Anthony’s vs. No. 2 Chaminade

I’ve seen a lot of both teams this season, which play contrasting styles. Control of this games pace will decide the winner. Chaminade, the two-time defending CHSAA state champions, needs to run its offense through Patrick McCann. The sure-footed senior is strong with the ball He can make the smart pass to get Chaminade a quality shot or score himself. His teammates need to look for him, especially when St. Anthony’s ups the pressure. Other wise they will struggle to score goals. The Flyers’ defense, led by Steve Stefanak, is one of the best around, but its up to the midfield to keep St. Anthony’s from quickening the pace. The Friars need to use their superior athletic ability and let Orlando Castanada and Mike Valencia create on offense. They are the two best of many weapons. Alex Naples is excellent in goal and will stifle many of Chaminade’s set pieces.

Pick: St. Anthony’s

SUFFOLK CLASS B FINAL

No. 1 Mattituck vs. No. 2 Southampton

Southampton handed Mattituck, the defending Class B champion, its only loss, a 3-1 defeat on October 14. Danny Hudson, 13 goals and four assists, is one of Long Islans’s best players. He and Alex Doubrava made up a good one-two punch for a strong Mattituck (15-1) offense. Mattias Ruiz and Irineo Amador are both double-digit goal scorers for Southampton. I’m sure Mattituck wants nothing more than to make up for its lone loss and give itself another shot at Oneonta. It also has a big-game goalie in Billy Birkmier. He will be the difference.

Pick: Mattituck

NASSAU CLASS B FINAL

No. 1 Cold Spring Harbor vs. No. 3 Carle Place

It is had to see Cold Spring Harbor (6-5-5) losing this game. The defending champions have been battle tested all year playing against Class A schools Jericho and Mineola and finishing ahead of schools like South Side and Great Neck North. Bryan Nason, 10 goals leads the Seahawks offense, which is not high scoring. Cold Spring Harbor is known for its defense. Carle Place (7-2-6) is coming off a 1-0 semifinal win over Wheatley and has a 10-goal scorer of its own in Ricky Jarvis. Chris Barbosa has eight goals and eight assists. Expect a Cold Spring Harbor win probably 2-1 or 3-1.

Pick: Cold Spring Harbor

NASSAU CLASS C FINAL

No. 1 Friend Academy vs. No. 2 Oyster Bay

Friends Academy has not beaten Carle Place this season. Carle Place won 3-2 on September 10 and lead 3-0 in the game. The two teams played to a 2-2 tie when Chris Campbell scored his second goal with one second left in the game off a direct kick just outside the 18 for Friends Academy on Oct. 2. Matt Slotnick, 11 goals and eight assists, and Colin Heffron, 10 goals and four assists, lead a Friend offense that can put some points on the board. Oyster Bay has won five straight games coming into this one. Thomas Treiber has 12 goals and five assists and Matt Capozzo had nine goals and five assists. I think Oyster Bay has proven it can beat Friend and is the hot team right now. Oyster Bay takes home the crown.

Pick: Oyster Bay

SUFFOLK CLASS C FINAL

No. 1 Southold vs. No. 2 Port Jefferson

Southold, the three-time defending champion, has been the favorite to win the Class C title all season. Port Jefferson lost by one goal both times during the regular season, 3-2 and 1-0. So expect this to be another close one. Port Jefferson (13-5), which lost 4-0 to Southold (15-2-1) in last season’s final, needs to play solid team defense to counter Southold’s balanced attack. Matt Ellis, 24 goals, is the most dangerous scorer for Southold, but many of its players are threats. Sam Davis, 12 goals, is Port Jefferson’s best option on offense. If the game, which should be physical, is low scoring than Port Jefferson can pull it out, but you have to like Southold to win by a goal or two.

Pick: Southold

CLASS D FINAL

No. 1 Greenport vs. No. 2 Smithtown Christian

The team split to two regular season meetings, both winning by a score of 2-1. Greenport (11-6) won the most recent match up. Greenport lost 4-2 to defending Class C champions Southold in its final regular season game. Orlando Lopez, 27 goals and seven assists, is the key to the Greenport offense. James McEnaney has six goals and 11 assists. Smithtown Christian (8-8) the reigning Class D champ, is coming off a 2-1 win over Class C finalist Port Jefferson on Oct. 22. Larry Kim, the teams, leading scorer tallied two goals in the game. Ryan Mohr, 12 goals, is its second scoring option. The experience Smithtown Christian gained going to State last season will be the reason they prevail in this game and they will have to slow down Lopez. If not, then we will have a new champion.

Pick Smithtown Christian

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Sophomore Joe Dettori scored a school-record five goals for Bay Shore in a 7-0 win over Whitman on the Oct. 15. The game was Dettori’s first career start in his first year on varsity. He scored four goals in the first 16 minutes and then came in for five minutes in the second half and scored again. He had been coming off the bench as a backup forward, playing about 15 minutes a game and scoring nearly every game.

Last year he scored 10 goals for the junior varsity team, the most in the 15 years and his brother John Dettori, now graduated, led League II in scoring last year with 15 goals, according to coach Jon Nelson.

Barea becomes scoring leader at IT

Stephan Barea scored two goals and set two school scoring records in the process for Island Trees (5-3-7) in a 4-1 non-league win over Manhasset yesterday. Barea is now Island Trees' single season and all-time leading goal scorer.

1. Brentwood
Brentwood is a bit banged up, but did not miss a beat least week. It remained nationally ranked, is 18-0 and clinched the League I title for the sixth straight season with tight wins over Ward Melville and Sachem East last week. Danny Hernandez made five saves in each win to record his 11th and 12 shutout of the season.

2. St. Anthony’s
The Friars (14-0-1) showed off is athleticism and speed during an impressive 2-1 win over rival Chaminade last Tuesday night. The win against the Flyers and one over St. Mary’s put St. Anthony’s in position to win out and clinch the CHSAA regular season title.

3. Chaminade
The Flyers (13-1-3) suffered its first loss of the season to St. Anthony’s last week, but beat nationally-ranked Martin Luther King Jr., the defending PSAL champion Sunday. Bill Cikos had a goal and an assist in the 2-0 win of MLK.

4. Massapequa
Massapequa (9-2-2) locked up the Conference AA-I title with two wins last week. It’s most impressive was a 3-0 victory of Syosset in a rematch of last season’s county final. Jimmy Nealis, who has 10 goals this season, scored twice in the win.

5. Patchogue-Medford.
Patchogue-Medford (10-3) used a strong week from Mike Molinare, two goals and two assists, to grab wins over Commack and Floyd. Patchogue has won three straight since losing to Brentwood.

6. Great Neck South
Great Neck South (12-1-1) has won 10 straight and clinched the Conference AA-III title with a 6-3 win over Long Beach on Oct. 14 and held reigning Nassau Player of the Year Ahkeel Rodney to a goal in a 2-1 win over Elmont on Oct 16.

7. Centereach
Centereach (10-2-1) is unbeaten in its last nine games, but didn’t have the most impressive of weeks with just a 1-1 tie with Half Hollow Hills East.

8. Half Hollow Hills West
The Colts (10-2-3) rebounded from having its eight-game winning streak ended with a 5-0 victory over Deer Park and, 3-1, win against Bellport. The Colts can move a step closer to the League III title and a bump up in the rankings by beating Smithtown West Tuesday.

9. Comsewogue
Comsewogue (14-2) has won 14 straight games and remains unbeaten in League V with victories over Hauppauge and Rocky Point last week.

10. Port Washington
Port Washington (8-4-2) is back in the top 10 because it knocked of Hicksville 3-1 on three goals from Stephan Brossard and beat Oceanside 4-1 to move back into second place on Conference AA-II.

St. Anthony's Greg Mallia pulls on the shirt of Chaminade's Conor Mercadante as they chase the ball along with Chaminade's Joseph Ruescher, left. (Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara / September 30, 2008)

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Chaminade and St. Anthony's played to a 0-0 stand still on the scoreboard, but not on the field. The Flyers outplayed the Friars for the majority of the 90 minutes yesterday.

The game, which featured two nationally ranked team, was well played and exciting to watch, even. Each team tried to dictate the pace in its favor. Chaminade wanted to play a more controlled possession game. St. Anthony's wanted to speed up the game's pace with pressure and shot long balls up the sidelines for its speedy forwards to catch up to.

The Friars tried to put tremendous pressure on the Chaminade midfield. The strategy because of the Chaminade' pose and ball handling turned into more fouls for St. Anthony's then Flyers' turnovers.

"We knew it was coming," Patrick McCann said. "It's just how they play, helter skelter. In practice we worked on. We put guys in there who would run all over."

For the most part Chaminade kept the game at its tempo and, by a naked eye count, created many more quality scoring chances. If a few of those chances go in the score could have easily ended up 3-1 Chaminade. Give credit though to goalie Alex Naples for making some difficult diving and leaping saves to help keep Chaminade off the scoreboard. St. Anthony also filling up the box. Many Chaminade shot ended up deflecting off bodies.

"If it happens once it's all right," Steven Stefanak said of the close calls. "After a while it gets frustrating."

Chaminade outplayed St. Anthony's, with only a tie to show for it.

Notes:

I was very impressed with Chaminade's Patrick McCann. He is the type of player who can really control a game at midfield. He is patient and smart with the ball. McCann can start a play with a perfect pass or by dribbling through a few defenders.

The speed of St. Anthony's Orlando Castanada is something to watch. The kid is only a junior and he can run for days, which fits right in with the Friars' system.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Comsewogue is the favorite to win the Suffolk Class A title. You heard it here first.

The Warriors are unbeaten in Suffolk League V, a perfect 6-0, and 7-2 overall. They used a Sean Dougherty goal on an assist for Mackie Magoulas with 1:40 left to beat Sayville, 2-1,yesterday. Comsewogue already beaten Hauppauge and gets Kings Park next.

I give coach Dan Costello a lot of credit for testing his talented team against Newfield and Sachem East, two excellent AA teams, in the first two games of the season. Comsewogue lost just 2-0 to Newfield and 2-1 to Sachem East.

I knew Comsewogue had a chance to be a dynamic and explosive offensive team just looking at the roster at the start of the season. Dougherty already has nine goals, Keith Vigorito has seven goals and five assists and Magoulas has four goals and four assists.

Its defense, lead by Chase Lipshie, Nick Falherty and goalie Kyle Dougherty, has been equally impressive. The Warriors have given up just five goals in nine games and no more than two in any one contest.

This combination of talented offensive playmakers and stingy defense will have Comsewogue right there at the end.

You heard it here first.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Westhampton coach Al Ellis won his 350th career boys varsity soccer game when Westhampton beat East Hampton, 2-1, on Sept. 18. He has since added two more victories and now has 352 victories in his 31-year career. He coached 29 seasons at Rocky Point and the last two at Westhampton Beach. I'd just like to send my congratulations to Al on the milestone and all his success.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Half Hollow Hills West's Stefan Carter already entered this season as the school's all-time assist leader, but he set an even bigger milestone on Thursday.

Carter became Hills West's all-time leading scorer, according to coach Doug Gannon, on his first assist, a free kick headed in by Nolan Gelman in the Colts, 2-1, win over Smithtown West in League IV. The senior, who also assisted on Gelman's second goal, now has 91 career points, breaking the record previously held by Mike Zeller (1994-97).

What was even more important was that that win was the Colts' fourth straight and they are unbeaten in their last five contests. A hard-luck, 2-1, loss to Riverhead has seemed to have refocused the Colts (5-1-3, 4-0-1) and Carter. The Boston College bound forward has four goals and seven assists in his last four games, including a two goal and two assist performance against Deer Park. Nolan Gelman has also come on with three goals and three assists in the four wins.

Half Hollow Hills West hosts unbeaten West Babylon (7-0, 4-0) Saturday at 10 a.m. The game should give us our first sense of who the best team in League IV is. The way the Colts and their stars are playing, my vote goes to them.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Sure it hasn't been a good last few days for the St. John the Baptist boys soccer team. Suspensions have been given out since the team’s bench-clearing brawl with St. Anthony’s last Thursday night.

Now it is time to get back to soccer.

I got the chance to watch St. John the Baptist for the first time and was really impressed with two of its players.

Coach Andrew Herr has told me that he believes Adriano Gabriele is the best player in the CHSAA. While that is a fact to be debated, the kid is certainly the real deal. The first thing that jumped out me was his athleticism and what long strides he can take while dribbling the ball down field. He scored twice and certainly could have scored more in a 5-0 win over St. Dominic yesterday. Even from 30-yards out his shot is so accurate and so powerful that it is a serious threat.

Watching Gabrielle just reaffirmed what I had heard about him. It was a different story for John Sheridan. The midfielder exhibited a superb poise to his game and excellent ball handling skills. The ball was soft to his feet and soft off of them. When Sheridan dribbles the ball barely leaves hit feet. He is total control.

The last few days have been ones to forget for St. John the Baptist, but with players like Gabriele and Sheridan, the days to come are certainly worth looking forward too.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Four of Nassau’s best teams squared off, but nothing was decided.

Massapequa appeared as if it was going to hold on for an important win over Syosset, but Spencer Hazan scored on scramble in the box with 1:00 left to tie the score at 2 for the Braves (1-1-3) in Conference AA-I. James Diana headed in a free kick to give Massapequa (4-0-1) a 2-1 lead 60th minute.

Tyler Arnone scored two goals for Hicksville (3-1-1) and Bobby Cassidy and Mike Buquicchio each scored one goal for Oceanside (1-1-2) all in the first half for a 2-2 tie.

Port Washington (3-2-2), Conference AA-I’s other top squad, played a telling non-league contest. It lost just 1-0 to Chaminade. Steve Stefanak scored on an assist from Patrick McCann off a corner kick 3:48 into the game for Chaminade (5-0-1). Michael Gallagher and Brandon Saldana each made two saves for the shutout. The close match tells you that Port Washington is starting to play its best soccer right now.

The game’s outcomes don’t tell you who Massapequa's top challenger is right now. Though It does tell you how close in talent all the teams are and how a bounce here or there could eventually decide the county championship down the line.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Mineola's Nuno Rodrigues played so much soccer over the summer that coach Paul Pereira thought he needed some time to rest. Rodrigues was held out of Mineola's first three games this season, including a, 1-0, Conference ABC-I loss to Garden City on Sept. 11.

But so far it looks like the move is paying off as Rodrigues look pretty refreshed Wednesday.

Rodrigues, who possess an extremely accurate shot, had a hand in all four of Mineola's goals.

He scored three times in a 4-2 win over Roslyn. His third goal, and fourth of the season, came on a penalty kick to give Mineola a 4-1 lead with 12 minutes left.

The senior also sent a perfectly placed 35-yard through ball to Marco Oliveira, who chipped it over the goalie to give Mineola (3-2-0, 2-1-0) a 2-0 lead in the 22nd minute.

The All-Long Island and All-Region selection had 15 goals and five assists last season and looks like he is on his way to another stellar year.

Next up for Mineola is Jericho on Friday. Conference ABC-I has been extremely competitive so far. Mineola, Jericho, Cold Spring Harbor and Garden City all have two league wins. No team will be running away with this one.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

If you play for West and North Babylon you don't know what a loss feels like. They are a combined 10-0 this season, so let's take a quick look at each of them and where their next big tests will come.

North Babylon: At a perfect 5-0 they have so far proven to be a formidable foe. The win that really grabs your attention is a 4-3 victory over Half Hollow Hills East. Antonio Crespi scored the winner with 3:14 left in League III. He finished with two goals and two assists and Leo Fernandes added a goal and two assists. Crespi is tied for third on Long Island in points with nine and Fernandes is tied for fifth with eight. It has a date with a hot Smithtown East squad on Sept. 23. East is 4-0-1 and boasts a 0-0 tie with Half Hollow Hills West. The game could go a long way to deciding the League III title.

West Babylon: It doesn't have the big win on the resume like North Babylon, but the one thing West Babylon has done is look impressive in its wins. It beat Wyandanch 6-0, Rocky Point 4-1, and Deer Park 3-0. Its 1-0 win over Riverhead on a Frank Essig goal, his fifth of the season, on a pass from Franco Aiuto in the 23rd minute got it off to a good start in League IV. Chris Muhs made six saves in his fourth shutout of the season. Up next is a solid Bellport team on Sept. 17 and Smithtown West, a team better than its record, on Sept 23. Those two games will show if West Babylon is a serious contender for the league title.

Sachem East's Eddie Bejarano, right, gets pressured by Patchogue-Medford's Michael Carroll (Photo by James A. Escher / September 12, 2008)

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

West Islip struggled at the start with losses in its first two games, but the Lions earned an all important League II win over Bay Shore, 2-1, in double overtime yesterday.

Jason Bohman finished a cross from Derek Schmitt 6:00 into the second overtime for West Islip. Jerry Nobile tied the score at 1 for West Islip in the 74th minute. Justin Rivera opened the scoring for Bay Shore in the 26th minute with a shot from 22 yards.

It says a lot about a team to be able to battle back in the pouring rain, after watching the other team's best player beat you for goal. This could be the start of a nice little winning streak for West Islip.

This game was just one of four matches that were won 2-1 into extra time yesterday.

Mulligan's goals leds Patchogue-Medford

James Mulligan scored twice, including the winner off a pass from Brandon Alevas in the 81st minute to lift Patchogue-Medford to a win over Sachem East in League I. Michael Molinare assisted on Mulligan's first goal. Ryan Hempfling scored off a cross from Anthony Ferrara in the 15th minute to open the scoring for Sachem East. The win improved Patchogue-Medford to 2-0, but it has a date with Brentwood coming on Sept. 15.

Connetquot tops Kings Park

Justin Bertone scored off a feed from Anthony Johnson in the second overtime to win it for Connetquot over Kings Park in non-league. The win is Connetquot's first of the season. Stephen Eicher opened the scoring with a goal for Kings Park in the second half. Johnson scored on a corner kick from Justin Bertone to tie the score at 1.

Benevidez lifts Bellport over Eastport-South Manor

Noel Benevidez scored on an assist from Chris Rupolo at the five minute mark of the first overtime to lift Bellport over Eastport-South Manor. Rupolo tied the game at 1 two minutes into the second half for Bellport, which earned its first win of the year.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Connor Stockton is sure making up for lost time. The Westhampton senior has already scored five goals in three games this season including four against Southampton on Sept. 8 after missing all of last season with a broken foot.

Even with all the missed time Stockton was ranked as one of Suffolk's top players going into the season. We are certainly seeing why.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

My first impression of Brentwood after talking to coach Ron Eden was how explosive and prolific they could be on offense.

"We are loaded up top," Eden said. "This is the year were I have the most quality finishers up top."

The Indians have scored nine goals in three game, including four each against Central Islip and West Islip. Even so, the thing I am most impressed with so far is its defensive numbers. Brentwood has given up just one goal in its three games, but also take a look at the save numbers for the goalies. The most saves Danny Hernandez and Edison Hildago have had to make in any game is four.

So Brentwood is not only turning away quality shots, they are barely giving them up. The combination of that kind of offense and defense if the reason why Brentwood is ranked 10th in the nation by NSCAA/Adidas and the early favorite to reclaim the Suffolk AA title.

"We are not afraid of the of the bulls eye on the back," Eden said. "We have been there for so long that we're expecting it."

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Sure it's still September, but there has not been a shortage of big time boys soccer match ups in Suffolk County this season.

Just yesterday Ward Melville used an Andrew Zimmerman goal on a pass from Chris DiFiore to beat Smithtown West despite 10 saves from Thomas Kirnbauer.

The Bulls suffered another close loss on Sept. 8, 3-2, to Newfield when Steven Lopes scored the winner off an assist from Kyle Schlesinger with 10:00 left in the game.

The same day Southhold knocked off Center Moriches 2-1 behind two first half goals from Matt Ellis, East Islip upset West Islip 2-0 and Commack played Half Hollow Hills West to a 2-2 tie.

Nationally-ranked Bretwood held off Bay Shore 1-0 on Sept. 7.

That is just a taste. There is plenty more to come.

If you have a big game or big win prior to Sept. 10 you want mentioned feel free to let me know. Make sure to tell me why it was so important.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Elmont coach Patrick Corvetti knew Ahkeel Rodney was one of the elite soccer players on Long Island, but didn’t know his talents went far beyond that.

Rodney simply didn’t tell him.

"He’s very modest," Corvetti said. "I didn’t know he played for the national team until I put him up for awards He never even told me. He is a modest kid who wants to win."

Rodney, Newsday’s Nassau Player of the Year, starts for the U17 national team and the Region 1 team. For Elmont last season he scored a Long Island leading 33 goals to go along with four assists. The junior’s desire to win was evident after Elmont (11-4-1) saw a 4-1 lead evaporate against Plainview JFK late in the season. After he tied the score at 5 with 1:00 left in the game, Rodney scored the winner, his fourth goal of the contest, with 15 seconds left in the game. It was his seventh goal in two contests.

"I didn’t want to lose at all," Rodney said. "We couldn’t lose. That was crunch time for playoffs. I just kept working."

The All-Region selection was as dominate an offensive force as you could find, even though he drew multiple defenders and a defense’s undivided attention nearly ever game. Rodney possesses superb quickness, great accuracy and excellent foot skills. He has already received interest from St. John’s, Boston College, Santa Clara and Hofstra among others.

"He would be like a five-tool baseball player," Corvetti said. "He is fast, he has soccer smarts, he’s athletic, he’s coachable, and he’s a leader. He’s got the whole package. If he played goalie he wouldn’t give up a goal."

Rodney believes his role will increase even more next season as Elmont loses a substantial number of seniors. It should bring even more attention on him and possibly more accolades, but he’d rather quietly go about the business of winning.

"I don’t really like telling people that stuff," Rodney said. "I’m very humble. I don’t like people going ‘oh, oh, congratulations.’"

After this season he may get use to it.

BY JEFF GOLD AND JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Long Island Top 10

1. Half Hollow Hills West
2. Massapequa
3. Chaminade
4. Brentwood
5. West Islip
6. Port Washington
7. Sayville
8. St. John the Baptist
9. Great Neck North
10. Mattituck

Nassau Top 10

1. Massapequa
2. Chaminade
3. Port Washington
4. Great Neck North
5. Syosset
6. Jericho
7. Cold Spring Harbor
8. Hicksville
9. Mineola
10. Valley Stream Central

Suffolk Top 10

1. Half Hollow Hills West
2. Brentwood
3. West Islip
4. Sayville
5. St. John the Baptist
6. Mattituck
7. Smithtown West
8. Centereach
9. Ward Melville
10. Bay Shore