And the coffee cup goes to . . . Bonac!
East Hampton boys soccer won the inaugural Hampton Coffee Cup Sept. 25, defeating Southampton 2-1 at Westhampton Beach High School. Bonac opened the tournament with a 7-2 win over Westhampton on Sept. 5, and secured the trophy with goals from Colton Everett and Alex Valentin against the Mariners.
“We were able to break Southampton with a bit more than 13 minutes to go in the first half to go up 1-0 with a great ball by Bryan Pilco played to Colton
Everett, who stayed composed when in possession and found the back of the net,” said Don McGovern, East Hampton’s head coach. “It was a pretty open game and if you were just a spectator and not supporting Southampton or East Hampton, you saw some exciting play on the part of all the players on the field. We secured the second goal with a bit over a minute to play in the first half with a tremendous goal from Alex Valentin from 25 yards out off a free kick. Alex’s strike would prove to be the winning goal.”
East Hampton is now 6-1 on the season, having dropped its first game the night before, a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Amityville. Coach McGovern believes Bonac actually played better against Amityville and used that loss to help fuel the boys in their fight for some silverware, as he called it, against Southampton.
“We spoke about not enjoying the feeling of the loss and how hard work and determination will pay off in not having to experience it again, two days in a row,” he said. “I feel the boys worked hard and handled the adversity well in the match to learn from the adversity we experienced the day before. These experiences are things we hope the boys carry with them as we progress through the remainder of our league season over the next month.”
So far this season, the Bonackers have been playing consistently on both offense and defense. Three of their six wins have been shutouts, and only Westhampton has managed to score two goals against them. McGovern credits their work ethic not only in their games, but also in practice.
“Much of our success so far has to do with the effort all the boys give in our practice sessions in the manner in which they push each other,” he said after a 2-0 win against Kings Park on Sept. 14. “It is early yet in the season, but hopefully our work rate continues in practice and in our matches and we continue to handle the difficult moments in matches in the same manner as we did against Kings Park.”
Pilco and Everett scored in that game, and have been two of the difference makers for East Hampton so far, along with Arael Marin, Liam Wilson, and Esteban Diaz. They’ll be essential as the team looks to maintain its winning ways in the back half of the season.
“Every match will be difficult and we need to remain focused on working hard each day and pushing each other to get better each day,” McGovern said. “The toughest competition is always the next match, no matter the opponent. We keep talking about how nothing is easy and positive results come through hard work, determination, and teamwork. We keep reminding them that how they manage adversity, when it hits us, and respond to it is how we learn and grow not only as players but as young men.”
The boys’ next home game is Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Miller Place.
