Elmont tops Carey for soccer title

Elmont’s upset loss to last-place Westbury kept the door to the Nassau Conference AA-III boys’ soccer title open for Carey and set up a winner-take-all showdown between the Spartans and Seahawks Oct. 25.

But Elmont made good on its second chance to claim first place. Sophomore forward Benji Alonge, the leading goal scorer in the county, tied a career-high with four goals to lead the Spartans to a 4-1 victory and their first conference crown since 2006. Senior Richard Robinson and junior Esosa Aulyi had two assists apiece, while junior Elvis Aguiluz scored Carey’s lone goal.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” Elmont coach Pat Corvetti said. “We came in needing a win or a tie after losing to Westbury, but you never want to play for a tie. Mentally, we needed to bounce back from the loss and go into the playoffs feeling confident.”

The third-seeded Spartans (10-1-3 overall) earned a first-round playoff bye and will host No. 6 Hempstead or No. 11 Calhoun in the quarterfinals. Seventh-seeded Carey (8-3-1) lost to No. 10 Great Neck South in a first-round game last Friday. According to Corvetti, Elmont’s last playoff win came more than 30 years ago.

“Our first goal was to make the playoffs,” said Corvetti, whose team competed in the top Class A conference a year ago and won three games. “About three weeks into the season we were ranked in the top 10 by coaches and the more wins we got, the more we turned our attention towards winning the conference.”

The Spartans had a chance to seal the deal Oct. 22 at Westbury but fell short, 1-0. “Not a word was said on the bus ride back,” Corvetti said. “In the end it worked out better and we’re in the position we want to be in, but it’s not the way we drew it up.”

Alonge’s first goal at Carey came 15 minutes into the game and was set up by Robinson, who leads Nassau in assists with 17 to go along with eight goals. Aguiluz tied it 10 minutes later with his team-leading 12th goal for the Seahawks and it remained 1-1 at halftime.

The second half, with the sun at their back, the Spartans shined. Alonge put them ahead for good in the 55th minute when he took a through ball from Aulyi and beat junior keeper Brian Morgan (10 saves.) Alonge added his 23rd and 24th goals of the year and junior goalie Alex Servin stopped 10 shots behind a defense led by senior George Gordon and juniors John Rogers, Pascal Hyacinthe and Tim Rosario.

It was the first game Aulyi played up front with Alonge, and Corvetti plans to keep it that way in the playoffs. “They showed very strong chemistry,” he said.

Robinson, who is headed to Clemson University, keys Elmont’s transition game. “He’s a big-time leader on and off the field with all the tools,” Corvetti said.

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