Garden City Boys Soccer Punch Ticket To County Finals

The opening semifinal match of the evening saw Glen Cove, the 12 seed, battle number 9 seed Manhasset to a 3-2 overtime victory. The game was played with high wind gusts for much of the match, affecting the play at times as the wind whipped across the field. With the win, Glen Cove locked up a spot in the County final with their third playoff victory, the previous two coming against North Shore and Plainedge.

The nightcap of the playoff doubleheader was played under windier conditions and the constant threat of rain, which eventually started as the second half got underway. The match-up of the number 3 seeded Garden City Trojans against number 15 seed the Roosevelt Rough Riders was going to be a tighter match than the numbers would predict.

The match was a rollercoaster ride for both sets of equally loud fans but ended with the Garden City crowd cheering their boys on to the hard fought, come from behind 3-2 victory. The game featured clutch goals from each of their senior tri-captains Connor Brock, Finn Connolly, and Ryan Buccellato.

The Trojans come into the match off a dominating 3-0 victory over Carey as defensive standout and senior co-captain Connor Brock netted two goals as a result of corner kicks. Garden City has a potent offense that paired with their shutdown defense to produce a stellar 12-1 record in Conference A. They reached the semi-final match courtesy of two shutout wins, one against Island Trees and then Carey. Keeper James Castoro and his defensive unit have eleven shutouts under their belt this season and that has propelled Garden City this year.

On the other side of the ball is a Roosevelt team that is peaking in the playoffs, with three tight wins against Bethpage, Mineola and Mepham, the last being a game that went to a shootout. The Rough Riders have a potent offense but are susceptible to the counterattack and have given up five goals in the three playoff games while scoring ten.

The first half started as one could have predicted with Garden City controlling the ball, as well as the early chances, But Roosevelt always looked dangerous on the counterattack as they looked for leading scorers Elias Alvarado or Justin Sagasture with passes over the top of the Garden City defense.

Just four minutes into the match, the Trojans Tommy Poz created space for himself, and he quickly unloaded a shot from just outside the box as he tried to catch the keeper off his line. The ball was struck hard but sailed over the goal. Battling back and forth for the next 13 or so minutes, the teams settled into the game, and neither side would give up any space to their opponent.

In the seventeenth minute Travis Thompson used his speed down the sideline and sent a perfect through ball to Luke Menger. He took the pass in stride and sent a beautiful cross into the box for Finn Connolly. But Connolly's header went wide of the goal keeping the game scoreless. The ensuing goal kick produced a foul just on the Garden City side of the field and Roosevelt had a free kick. From forty yards out, defender Ivan Molina drove the ball into the box looking for Alvarado, but GC keeper Castoro rose above him to snatch the ball before he could get a head on it.

The next five minutes saw three more good chances for the Trojans, but Roosevelt keeper Elias Villatoro came up big. First it was an opportunity for Thompson as he tried to flick a low corner kick from Nick Bernieri onto the goal. Then it was Connolly driving a hard shot from 25 yards out that Villatoro punched out to safety. And then with 10 minutes remaining in the half, Connolly beat his defender down the sideline and sent a ball to Steven Zuniga in the box. Zuniga got a foot on the pass but couldn’t put the shot on goal.

Roosevelt had another good chance on a set piece, this time from about 30 yards out. Gabriel Santos sent a ball high towards the goal that Castoro went up for and pushed over the bar for another key save to preserve the nil – nil score.

Garden City thought they finally broke through in the last four minutes of the half as Poz got behind the Rough Rider defense and took a long ball from Spencer Caporicci and buried it for the would-be goal but the flag was up for an offsides call. And finally in the last-minute Garden City had a free kick from just outside the box that Bernieri put into the box but the Roosevelt defense got up to clear the ball.

As halftime whistle blew the wind began to pick up, but more importantly, the rain started and blew across the field. The second half started with the ominous weather but more ominously for Garden City. As they kicked off it was a combination of a mistake by the defense and a wind aided ball that was corralled by Roosevelt forward Alvarado and he easily put it into the back of the net only 10 seconds into the half. And Roosevelt had the 1-0 lead.

It didn’t take Garden City long to climb back in the game as a hand ball in the area by a Roosevelt defender led to a penalty kick for Finn Connolly. He stepped up to the spot and calmly nailed a shot the keeper Villatoro punched out as he guessed right on the shot. Fortunately for Garden City the ball landed at the foot of Connolly and this time he buried the shot past a diving goalie. The GC sideline erupted and the score was tied at one.

Roosevelt was not done yet and didn’t submit to the pressure that Garden City was applying and the Rough Riders countered with a run at the goal that forced a corner kick for them. The ensuing corner was played into the wind and sailed over the outstretched hands of Castoro and settled into the goal for the 2-1 lead for Roosevelt.

Garden City roared back and on one of their own corner kicks, Connolly lofted a ball to the back post where Connor Broak stepped into it but sent the shot over the goal. But not to be denied, Brock would get to the next free kick again at the back post, and this time he nailed a shot past the hands of the keeper and into the net for a 2-2 game.

The Trojans were relentless looking for the decisive goal. They had several chances in the last fifteen minutes, but the game winner came with just 1:04 remaining on the clock. An innocuous foul around the midfield line by Roosevelt gave Garden City a free kick. With the wind picking up, Ryan Buccellato stepped up to take the kick. As it sailed high towards the goal the Garden City sideline watched with anticipation, hoping someone would get their head on the ball. But Buccellato’s kick didn’t need any help as it hit the back of the net for the game winner. The Trojans mobbed the goal scorer as they escaped a formidable challenger in Roosevelt.

With a tough win like this one under their belts, Garden City will look to capture the crown on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the finals against a Glen Cove team they have beaten twice this season.