Curse broken: Southold boys soccer upsets Port Jefferson in county semifinals

For the past two seasons, the Port Jefferson High School boys soccer team had Southold’s number.

As in four, the number of games the Settlers had lost to their Suffolk County League VI rivals.

That included a 3-0 defeat in last year’s Class C final and a 1-0 sudden-death overtime loss at home, decided by a penalty kick on Oct. 9.

But nothing lasts forever. The third-seeded Settlers made sure of that on Saturday, upsetting the No. 2 Royals, 1-0, in the county semifinals.

“We felt like we had a chip on our shoulders and we had to win this game,” said senior forward Brandon Moran, who set up junior Indie Riddell’s goal.

“It was a battle for all 80 minutes,” added junior goalkeeper Grady Brigham, who made a vital first-half save. “We came out strong, got our early goal, and we held it down. We broke the curse of Port Jefferson. We started our rivalry with them, so I feel like we’re going to have fun playing them in the future.”

Head coach Chris Ruggi was impressed by how Southold worked on both sides of the ball.

“For us to come out and play the way we did, be opportunistic and score the goal, and then to finish it well defensively and cleanly feels really good,” he said.

Southold (7-8-1) will meet top-seeded Riverhead Charter (9-7) at Eastport-South Manor in the Class C final on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m.

Saturday’s two biggest plays came in the final 107 seconds of the first half.

With one minute and 47 seconds remaining, Brigham leaped to his left and tipped Max Gordon’s shot off the woodwork.

“I saw that he was going to the other corner and I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’m going to make it to that time,’ ” Brigham said. “I just jumped, and I tried to hit it as hard as I could into the post. Luckily, it went out, and my teammate was able to clear the ball.”

Added right back Aaron Davis: “That was a fantastic save. He did phenomenal today.”

About a minute later, Moran fired a shot from the left side.

Keeper Samuel Matvya dove, knocking the ball away near the goal line. While Matvya scrambled for the ball, Riddell reached it first and tapped it home for his second goal of the season.

“I’ve always been crashing the net. I just buried it,” Riddell said.

Riddell’s goal did not surprise Ruggi.

“He plays right back for us sometimes. We talk about him getting forward and being involved in the offense, no matter where he is on the field,” he said. “Zero surprise that he was sniffing around the goal and put that ball in. I told the team before the game that Indie was going to score today. So, I’ll take credit for that one. There’s something about his opportunistic abilities.”

Brigham, who finished with 11 saves, caught every shot and loose ball in the penalty area.

“He did an amazing job,” Moran said.

Southold played a sound game defensively. The back four of senior center backs CJ Bailey and Elmer Velasquez, and outside backs Ben Zablotny (left), a sophomore, and Davis ensured Port Jefferson’s shots were rarely dangerous.

“Our two center backs are our pillars,” Ruggi said. “They are always in great position. They’re great in the air. They have speed. We feed off them.”

 Added Brigham: “I love my back four. We have such good synergy. I just love our whole defensive strategy.”

It sounds like a cliché, but every Southold player helped frustrate the Royals in the second half. The likes of Brendan Boyle and Jose Suhruy Xiquin worked hard in the midfield to maintain the lead.

The Settlers’ next challenge is Riverhead Charter. They lost to their foes on Oct. 15, 3-0.

Players felt Saturday’s win would give them a boost.

“It’s going to give us hope,” Davis said. “It’s going to raise the heat.”

“It gives us a ton of momentum,” Ruggi said. “Momentum is important and valuable, but it’s only going to carry into the opening kickoff. We’ve got to be ready and use that momentum right away and be ready for a really talented opponent. They played very well this year. We saw them once, and we had our hands full.

“We have to make some adjustments, have a good couple of days of practice, and give them more of a shot.”