Lynbrook soccer followed an annual tradition for the 14th year to play for a good cause during this year’s Lynbrook Soccer Day on October 4. Four games were played to raise money for the Rockville Center Breast Cancer Coalition. It was a sunny and warm day, making it perfect weather to play soccer. The boys played against the Seaford Vikings, and the girls played against the Baldwin Bruins.
The first of the four games was between Lynbrook JV girls and Baldwin JV girls. The Owls were in control the whole game, with goalkeeper Zoe Varol and defenders Alexa Reilly, Aryanna Cangialosi, Natalya Marshall, and Makenzie McLain keeping a clean sheet. Chance after chance to score kept coming until freshman Nathaly Bustamante scored a header off a corner from captain Alexa Reilly. The next goal would come soon after when freshman Riley Aragon passed the ball to eighth grader Charlie Coco – who had been a threat on goal all game – and she ripped a shot past the keeper. Next, Coco would assist Aragon when she played in a ball for Aragon to turn in at the back post. To end the half, Aryanna Cangelosi would score, assisted once again by Coco. The second half saw the girls play possession and maintain their lead.
After the game, Aragon reflected, “I think we played really well. The communication was there, [our] coach did an awesome job subbing, and, overall, we had many people score many goals.”
The second game of the day kicked off at 11:45 a.m. between Lynbrook JV boys and Seaford JV boys. Lynbrook would strike first after 13 minutes of play when freshman Ryan Casolaro chipped a ball into the box for Rhys Murphy to finish. Very soon after, two freshmen would link up again when Sean Sullivan passed the ball to Cristiano Araque, who shot from outside the area and over the goalkeeper into the top-left corner. Seaford would steal one back off a well-taken header, but not for long though as Sullivan would play a deep ball through the Vikings’ back line for Casey Rodriguez to score. Throughout the half, Lynbrook’s goalkeeper, Owen Reid, would make some crucial saves to keep the score in their favor. The second half saw a change of goalkeepers with Reid coming off for freshman Matthew Ambery. The game continued to be heavily in the Owls’ favor, but they would not score until 11 minutes left on the clock when sophomore Steven Tamayo would lay the ball off for freshman Georgios Belesis to send in the air over his head. Tamayo ran onto the pass, beating two defenders down the field and slotting it past the keeper. Goalkeeper Ambery and defenders Jacob Quinteros, captain True Prestianni, Joshua Pereira, and Edward Linzer would go on to keep a second-half clean sheet and finish the game 4-1.
Freshman Matthew Woods said, “I think we played pretty [well]. I think the offense was really nice, [and the] midfield played great. Defense was also really nice. So, I think that’s why it was a good game today.” Sophomore Edward Linzer added, “I think we played well. We played very controlling… we made a lot of good passes and a lot of good runs.”
Before the next game was played, the first senior recognition ceremony of the day would commence. A brief summary of their Lynbrook soccer career thus far was read for each of the 17 boys’ varsity soccer team members. Pictures were then taken with their families. The seniors who were recognized were Tyler Tjaden, Dillon Augustin, Thomas Dunne, Naseer Gaffoor, Grayson Prestianni, Aidan Michaels, Jacob Wolkoff, Steven Najera, Devin Byrne, Garrett Reid, Jake Palay, Fabian Safsten-Suarez, Nicholas Mignella, Jake Prince, Devin Ryan, Jose Guerra and Max Dellacona.
The game began at 3:00 p.m., and Lynbrook would start the game quickly with Dillon Augustin hitting a shot that was not too far off target. Lynbrook would keep peppering the Seaford goal, but Seaford’s goalkeeper was receptive to the pressure. The deadlock was broken 25 minutes in by junior Steven Najera after he picked up the ball about 20 yards out from goal and cannoned the ball into the back of the net. With less than a minute left in the half, Seaford equalized off a corner kick. After a disappointing end to the half, the Owls started the second half the same way they started the first: strong. Less than five minutes in, freshman John Esposito crossed the ball across the goal, and junior Jose Yapan-Gonzales headed it home. Throughout the game, captain Jake Prince kept making great stops in goal. The lead lasted for 22 minutes until the Vikings tied it up with 13 minutes remaining. Lynbrook kept pushing until the end of the game but could not supply the win.
Although the draw may seem disappointing, it was not all bad. For one, this was the first match this season that the Owls scored two goals. When asked about the game, Garrett Reid responded, “I think we played pretty well. We outplayed them, but we just couldn’t finish.” When asked if there were any positives, he said, “Yeah, we had a lot of good passes in the middle; I think we had a lot more possession than they did [and] completed a higher percentage of passes as well, [but] we just ended with the same number on the scoreboard.”
Before the girls’ match, another 13 seniors were recognized. The seniors recognized this were Leah Pisano, Isabella Medrano, Ella Carroll, Dani Zhanay, Addison DiFiore, Maggie Mattera, Lily Blackstone, Payton Stalter, Renata Villavicencio, Julia Quinn, Gianna Marafioti, Leah Casolaro, and Alessia Bavaro.
The final game of the day kicked off at 5:30 p.m. For the fourth time of the day, Lynbrook scored first. DiFiore played a long through ball to Marafioti who went on to score soon after. The next time Lynbrook scored would be when junior Jessie Vuotto was assisted by Medrano, followed in quick succession by an unassisted goal from Casolaro. To cap off the half’s performance, Vuotto would get her second goal of the day after finishing a loose ball in the box. Throughout the second half, Lynbrook created many chances, namely from DiFiore and Casolaro. Goalkeeper
Vainroob and defenders Carroll, Mattera, Stalter, and Pisano kept a clean sheet to secure the 4-0 win and ensure that Lynbrook went undefeated on soccer day.
Zhanay had this to say about the game: “We started off warming up really hyped, and I feel like we all were there for each other, and we all want to see each other succeed.” Zhanay commented on her key takeaways: “I’d say definitely that our team friendship had a big role, and I think us getting along and us being there for each other helps us play as well and helps us play coordinately and with each other. It really helps us out.”
Overall, Soccer Day for the Lynbrook Owls was a success. All four Lynbrook teams ended the day by adding another win or draw to their record, and they all supported the Rockville Center Breast Cancer Coalition.
