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Boys Soccer Is Hungry and Playing Hard

Tue, 10/22/2019 - 17:24
How Sweet It Was: To Have Made the Playoffs
Jack Graves

Two days before last Thursday’s boys soccer game here between the Bonackers and Kings Park, the latter team had shut out Half Hollow Hills West, the league’s second-place team, 3-0.

To put it into further perspective, Hills West had defeated East Hampton twice this season — 4-1 on Sept. 5 and 5-0 on Sept. 28.

You would have thought the challenge, then, would have been daunting, and yet Don McGovern’s charges, with visions of playoffs dancing in their heads, were the aggressor throughout the 80 minutes of play, winding up a 3-0 victor themselves, going against the wind in the first half and with it in the second.

Matthew McGovern, who orchestrates the attack from his center midfield position, led the way with two goals on the day, one in each half. David Ayala got the other, as halftime loomed, converting a free kick pass from Harold Gonzalez that took the visitors’ goalie by surprise, as the ball rolled by a defender and him into the nets at the near post.

“I think he thought David would dish it off,” McGovern was to say later.

Ayala’s goal sent East Hampton into the halftime break up 2-0, though the Bonackers, warned by McGovern not to “let them get back into it — you’re playing for a playoff spot” — were impressive in the second half as well. Kings Park perhaps had two shots on goal that afternoon, all told.

Christopher Pintado, East Hampton’s left wing, is always a threat to score. Jack Graves Photo

Matthew McGovern struck again with about six minutes gone in the second frame, converting a cross from Jonathon Bautista, who was playing left wing at the time.

“We’ve been playing well,” the coach was to say at Friday’s practice. “Matt’s been controlling the middle of the field, and the kids have been getting hungrier — they’ve been working hard.”

The win over Kings Park was the Bonackers’ fourth in a row, and improved their record to 7-5-2. It’s not only been the forwards who’ve been playing well, but also the backs, McGovern said — a group that includes Christian Gomez, Robert Rea, Aaron Sarmiento, and Ben Barris. The goalkeeping is being shared by Mateo Munera and Chris Barahona.

“The key is that these guys are playing pretty much the year round,” he added, “in the Long Island Junior Soccer League and in club soccer, both indoors and out. And we also play futsal [with a smaller, softer ball] in the high school gym two nights a week in the off-season. They’ve worked hard, as I’ve said. They deserve to be in the playoffs.”

The Bonackers played at league-leading Harborfields Saturday, losing 2-1. Harborfields thus remained undefeated in league play.

“It was a great game played by two quality sides,” McGovern said in an email Monday. “Harborfields scored first, then we answered soon after with a goal by Matthew off a corner kick by Christopher Pintado. We went into halftime with the score 1-1. The second half saw us control the ball for a good amount of the time, but a hands call in the penalty box resulted in a penalty kick for them with four minutes remaining, which they made. We pushed for the equalizer, and came close twice. . . . The boys played very well, but at the end of the day we need to be better in and around the box.”

East Hampton was to have finished the regular season with Hauppauge here Tuesday. “We’ll learn our playoff seeding on Friday,” said McGovern, adding that the playoffs are to begin Monday, at the sites of the higher seeds.

Last year, the Bonackers also made the playoffs, with a 7-6 record, were seeded 11th, and, after winning their first-round game with sixth-seeded Kings Park, lost to Elwood-John Glenn, the third seed, in the quarterfinals.

In other soccer news, Luis Barrera’s under-9 team defeated their Southampton peers 4-1 here Saturday. It was their sixth win of the season with games yet to play against Patchogue, North Fork, Manorville, and Rocky Point.

“If we win three more games, we will be champions of the Long Island Junior Soccer League,” Barrera said in an email Monday.

Further, the Wednesday evening 7-on-7 league at East Hampton’s Herrick Park, added, because of rainouts and a Yom Kippur blackout, Monday games this week, next week, and on Nov. 4. As of Sept. 25, the East Hampton Soccer Club and F.C. Tuxpan — last fall’s champion — were tied for first place, each at 2-0-1. Maidstone Market, the spring champion, and Tortorella Pools were each 1-1-1, Sag Harbor United was at 1-2-0, and Hampton Construction was 0-3-0.

East Hampton’s over-30 team, Hampton United, was in fourth place in Suffolk’s 12-team first division this week with a 3-2-0 record. Hampton United is to play Sporting America (1-2-2) at Hampton Bays High School, Hampton United’s home field, on Nov. 3.


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