Pre-season practice makes perfect for Mattituck soccer
Two minutes after the opening kickoff, a soccer referee flashed a yellow card at Mattituck High School forward Connor Searl.
He hadn’t fouled a Center Moriches player or said anything derogatory to the referees. He had committed the “sin” of forgetting to put on his shin guards. So off he went to the sidelines.
Welcome to summer soccer, specifically the Town of Brookhaven Summer League.
Photos by Bill Landon
“It’s the first game in the summer, and it’s the first five minutes of the summer. Obviously, that doesn’t fly during the year,” head coach Danny O’Sullivan said. “It’s the summer. Who’s coming from work? Who’s coming from the beach? Who’s coming from where? Sometimes you show up and you start with 10 and somebody’s wanting to put stuff on. I’m okay with it.”
Searl, a sophomore, made up for his forgetfulness, striking twice in the Tuckers’ 2-0 win over their eternal archrivals at Center Moriches on Monday night.
The summer league is high school sports’ version of spring training, giving seasoned players an opportunity to get back into the swing of things and freshmen a chance to learn what varsity soccer is all about.
“I was definitely very green,” said senior midfielder Anthony Soto, remembering his debut. “I was very slow compared to everyone. I would take way too long releasing the ball. I would get out-bodied a lot. It made me play faster, helped me be sharper.”
And become a regular.
“It’s a great experience,” said Searl, who recorded eight goals and six assists as a freshman. “It’s a lot more physical. There’s some more running, more moving into open space. It’s really great to get this summer experience before the fall season.”
He put in his first in the 48th minute when the goalie came well out of the net during a scramble at the top left of the penalty area.
“Luckily, the ball just dropped for me,” Searl said. “I got a touch with the weaker right foot. I was able just to pass it into the goal.”
His second goal was more talent than luck — a rocket from the upper right side of the box with two minutes remaining off Corey Dickerson’s throw-in. “That one felt good,” Searl said. “I tried to shield the guy on my back and make a quick turn.”
Lineups can be hit or miss. Each game has two 30-minute halves.
Junior goalkeeper Cris Cuellar was a surprise attendee. He returned home Sunday after his SUSA team was eliminated in a national tournament in Seattle. He started at forward, before tending the net in the second half, allowing Jayson Lopez and Eric Petrowski get playing time.
“They have to find the goalie to back me up in case I get injured,” he said.
O’Sullivan didn’t make a big deal about the win, which came on the same field where Mattituck lost in the 6-0 Class B soccer semifinal to Center Moriches in November. He noted that the Red Devils were missing several key players.
“It’s kind of tricky, watching the game and just seeing it develop,” he said. “I said to them before the game, ‘I didn’t want to show them anything. You’re going to see them twice. I’m hoping that you’re going to see them at the end of October, beginning in November in a more meaningful game.’ The fact that we were able to get everybody in — 22 guys — and everybody got 10 to 12 minutes was nice. The icing on the cake was beating them. Of course, it’s a summer game. We always preach results aren’t the main thing. For our guys, especially a very young core that we’re returning, coming out in the first game, scoring two goals, getting a clean sheet, I think all that is just positive. That’s just something to build off of.”
Especially for the players’ confidence.
The rivalry, which started in 1936, is arguably the best in Long Island soccer. The teams will meet twice in the coming regular season. Mattituck will visit the Red Devils on Sept. 30 before hosting them on Oct. 17.
“It just shows that we can actually win if we just put in the work and try,” Soto said. “We stand a chance.”
“We were coming into it with an open mind, but at the same time, in the back of our minds was, we ended the season here last year,” Searl said. “So of course, there’s a little bit more extra on it for the first game.”
Added Cuellar: “We made a statement here that we’re not here to just play around. We’re here to win and compete every single game.”
