Mineola beats Lawrence for county title

A pair of upsets brought Lawrence boys’ soccer to the county championship stage for the first time in program history, but the Golden Tornadoes fell a little short of the ultimate prize Nov. 1.

Third-seeded Mineola scored once in the first half and twice late in the second half to capture its first county title in 18 years with a 3-0 victory over No. 5 Lawrence in the Nassau Class A final under the lights and chilly air at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

Jose Escobar scored the first two goals for the Mustangs and Sebastian Knight put the icing on the cake with a little more than 10 minutes remaining. The Golden Tornadoes, who eliminated No. 4 North Shore and stunned top-seeded Floral Park in the quarterfinals and finals, respectively, finished 9-3-3 under first-year varsity coach Gerard Lagasse.

“The boys battled hard all season,” Lagasse said. “Mineola is a strong team and we didn’t get as many offensive opportunities as we hoped. We hit a ball off the crossbar that if it goes in and we tie it, it’s a different game. We made a tremendous run and I’m proud of how we played.”

Both goalkeepers — Lawrence sophomore Gabriel Rosales and Mineola junior Jesse Kostulias — made two saves apiece. The Golden Tornadoes had four corner kicks to the Mustangs’ one in the first half alone but couldn’t convert. It was the third playoff shutout for Kostulias.

Escobar gave Mineola the only goal it would need with 27:13 left in the first half, scoring from about 20 yards out. Lawrence’s best chance of the night came in the 25th minute when senior defender Emerson Mijango blasted a 40-yard free kick off the crossbar.

The Golden Tornadoes, who during the regular season tied Mineola 3-3 and lost to the Mustangs 2-0, faced a halftime deficit along with a wind disadvantage in the second half.

The game’s second goal didn’t come until 11:51 remained and this time Escobar used his head, converting a pass into the box from Adryan Campos. Knight scored on a free kick 1:37 later and the Mineola side of the bleachers erupted.

“These boys have been together since eighth grade, the far majority of them,” Mineola coach Al Cavalluzzo said. “This has been a long time in the making.”

Lawrence, which also lost to and tied Floral Park during the regular season, reached the title game for the first-time ever with a second-half rally against the Knights, who entered the semis with five goals allowed in 13 previous games. The Golden Tornadoes got goals five minutes apart from juniors Brandon Moran and Kevin Mendoza early in the second half to win it. Rosales made 10 saves.

Lagasse had six players earn individual honors: senior Jonathan Valiente (All-County), Mijango and junior Joseph Gonzales (Honorable Mention All-County), and senior Luis Manrique and juniors Benjamin Perez and Alex Samayoa were All-Conferenc