A game that was as much about two players who weren’t there was a reminder that soccer can be an unfair, cruel sport sometimes.
Had Jason Cruz been at Middletown High School’s Faller Field Thursday instead of Stony Brook University Hospital with a broken left leg, he surely would have been crushed by what he had seen, but at the same time extraordinarily proud of his teammates. READ
The final horn at Diamond in the Pines in Coram sounded, signifying the end of the Greenport boys’ emphatic 5-1 win over Solomon Schechter in the Class C boys sub-Southeast Regional. Yet, the postgame celebration Tuesday turned out to be a rather muted one. READ
Jason Cruz couldn’t believe what had happened.
Only several minutes prior he had just drilled a 20-yard shot into the lower left corner to lift Greenport to its first Suffolk County boys soccer championship in a decade Sunday. READ
The pain of defeat was just too much for at least one inconsolable young person on the Mattituck side of the soccer field. Tuckers coach Will Hayes tried his best to comfort the distraught youngster, but the bawling continued.
It wasn’t one of Hayes’ players, but his 8-year-old son, Owen. Mattituck’s 4-1 loss to rival Center Moriches in a Suffolk County Class B semifinal Wednesday was just too much for him to take. READ
In 2015, James Jacobs was looking forward to his first season on the Mattituck High School varsity boys soccer team as a backup goalkeeper to Kyle Makely on the Class B state champions. As a freshman, he was ready to pay his dues. Freshman goalkeepers traditionally wind up on the sidelines, soaking up the experience.
Then something happened. READ
The long search is over. The Mattituck High School boys soccer team has found a true goal scorer.
Coach Will Hayes said, for the first time in four years, he has a goal scorer. His name is Jack Burkhardt. READ
Midway through the opening half, Mattituck High School boys soccer coach Will Hayes looked down at the grass on the field.
“Gee, a penny,” he said, pocketing it.
Up until then Hayes did not need much luck — his team had rolled to a three-goal advantage over Greenport — but perhaps he could have used a little later Tuesday afternoon. The Tuckers lost senior goalkeeper James Jacobs to a sprained right ankle early in the second half of their 3-0 Suffolk County League VII victory. READ
Similarly to judging books by their covers, one should not judge a soccer team solely by its record. That’s especially true when comparing two teams from different classifications and leagues.
Records can be misleading and are hardly a foolproof measure of what a team can do on the field. READ
With no prior discussion or warning, the position change was made. Jason Cruz suddenly became a forward for the Greenport High School boys soccer team during a preseason scrimmage against Riverhead.
Since then, he has been on Cruz control, leading the Porters in goal scoring. READ
Dane Reda knows his strengths and weaknesses.
“I’m not the greatest soccer player, but I can run fast, so …,” he said. (more…)
