Sports

Today in sports: Greenport clashes with Southold in soccer

GARRET MEADE FILE PHOTO | Greenport/Shelter Island's Edwin Arias leads the Porters against Southold this afternoon.

In the midst of a dramatic turnaround from a year ago, the Greenport/Shelter Island boys soccer will look to continue its strong season this afternoon in the first round of the Class C playoffs. Greenport faces none other than its closest rival, Southold, at 2:30 p.m.

Greenport won only two games last season. But 10 of the team’s 14 losses were by one goal, showing that Greenport was on the verge of breaking trough. The Porters have busted through this year with a 7-7-2 record and only three of their losses came in league play.

It was enough for the Porters to earn the No. 2 seed, giving them the home field advantage over Southold today. The First Settlers, seeded third, weren’t far behind Greenport in the standings at 6-4-2 in league and 8-6-2 overall.

This will be the third time the teams meet this season. Greenport won 1-0 in the most recent game and the first meeting ended in a draw.

Mattituck, meanwhile, will travel to top-seeded and unbeaten Southampton in its first playoff game in Class B. The Tuckers reached the Southeast Region Class B final a year ago and will need a huge effort just to emerge victorious in their first playoff game this year. Southampton boasts a 15-0-1 record this season while Mattituck is 9-6-1. Southampton was responsible for two of Mattituck’s losses this season.

Today’s game starts at 2:30 p.m.