61.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Bruins still undefeated after tie
Posted
Senior midfielder C.J. Doherty, left, has four goals and nine assists for the Bruins.
Christina Daly/Herald
When it was over the scoreboard read 1-1, yet it felt like a loss as far as Baldwin was concerned.
A lucky break for the Bruins and an even luckier bounce for Plainview-JFK resulted in a Conference AA-II boys’ soccer deadlock last Friday, allowing the former to stay undefeated and the latter to gain a valuable point in the playoff race. The Hawks got the equalizer with 10 seconds remaining when Zach Amateau deposited a loose ball in an unguarded Baldwin net after goalkeeper Vinny Pellegrino and sweeper Steven Greene collided while attempting to clear a direct kick.
“We had three or four scoring opportunities we didn’t cash in,” Bruins coach Mike Palumbo said. “I thought they played well and I don’t want to take anything away from them, but we definitely let one slip away.
“We did get a lucky bounce—it was the first lucky bounce we’ve gotten all year but we didn’t make it stand up,” he added.
For about four-and-a-half minutes, it appeared as though Baldwin (8-0-1 in conference games) was going to snatch a victory in an evenly played and physical contest. It grabbed a 1-0 lead with 4:52 remaining when senior C.J. Doherty’s direct free kick from 25 yards out slipped through the hands of Plainview keeper Joe LaSpina, who made seven saves to Pellegrino’s four.
Amateau’s goal was only the fifth allowed by the Bruins all year. Working behind a smothering defense led by seniors Greene, Billy Deignan and Juan Gordillo and junior Stephen Tang, Pellegrino, a junior, posted five shutouts of his own and combined with senior Dan Sorto on two others. “I knew we were capable of playing tight defense,” said Palumbo, “and the guys we have back there all make runs and give us numbers pushing up. We’ve scored a bunch of goals off transition.”
Page 1 / 2
Report an inappropriate comment
Comments