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Light Rain Lawrence moves closer to .500
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Eddie Ramirez, left, scored the winning goal against Elmont.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
Lawrence opened the second half of the Conference ABC-V boys’ soccer season with a 3-2 victory at Locust Valley last Friday and pulled within a game of the .500 mark.
“We’ve been competitive in every game and I feel we’ll be better as we go around the schedule a second time,” coach Patrick Leary said. “We have a lot of skill and also a lot of room to grow.
“We do good things with the ball all the time, but we’re young from a tactical standpoint,” he added. “We’re still developing chemistry.”
Based on their past three performances, the Golden Tornadoes (2-3-2 in conference games) appear to be turning the corner. Prior to beating Locust Valley, they gave high-scoring Division all it could handle in a 1-0 loss and took a wild 5-4 decision against Elmont. “The signs are encouraging,” Leary said. “We really had a great effort against Division, which is a team with only one loss. If we can bottle that game up, I think we’ll have a great second half.”
Defensive lapses have hurt Lawrence at times but the recent move of junior Pablo Delgado from fullback to sweeper has molded the back row. “Pablo requested the switch, I gave him a shot and it’s solidified what we’re trying to accomplish on defense,” Leary said. “He was confident it would help the team and he was right.”
Also working on defense in front of senior goalkeeper Haras Chaudhry, a converted midfielder, is junior stopper Stefan Leger and fullbacks Stefano Gaspard and Noe Avalos. Senior Jeffrey Canales, a returning starter along with Leger and Gaspard, is providing a veteran presence in the midfield.
Chaudhry has played every minute of every game between the pipes and has totaled 75 saves, including a season-high 12 in a setback to West Hempstead. “He’s stepped up for us,” Leary said. “He’s a quality athlete and grew into the position. I’m not surprised he’s improved every day.”
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