60.0°,
Overcast Rough beginning for Marines
Posted
Sophomore Dylan Palacio has assisted on five of the team's six goals.
Ron Manfredi/Herald
There’s only one place to go for the Long Beach boys’ soccer team, and that’s up. The Marines are still seeking their first win of 2009 and have six more cracks at it.
“I thought last year’s problems were a fluke, but they carried over,” coach Bill DeFilippis said after Monday’s 5-0 home defeat to Conference AA-II rival East Meadow. “This season is not what I envisioned. When we’ve had our full team, like we did against Plainview two weeks ago, we gave a very good effort and lost by a goal.”
Long Beach (0-6-1) dressed only 14 players for Monday’s game and couldn’t keep pace with the Jets, who got two goals apiece from Alex Reminick and Anthony Posillico and foiled two penalty kicks to become the third straight opponent to blank the Marines. “We’re getting scoring opportunities,” DeFilippis said. “We’re just not finishing.”
With sophomore center-midfielder Dylan Palacio and junior forward Vladislav Finn sparking the offense, Long Beach was competitive in the season's early going. It tied Herricks out of the gate and, after a lopsided loss to Uniondale, bounced back to play one-goal games against Valley Stream Central and Plainview. Palacio leads the team in assists with four and Finn leads in goals with four.
“Dylan’s a well-trained, all-around player,” DeFilippis said. “He’s got an incredible work ethic and goes the entire game without getting tired.”
Finn is developing into a dependable scorer after not hitting the net in 2008. “He’s a talented kid,” DeFilippis said. “I’m hoping he can score more down the stretch.”
Seniors Mike Nakashian and Sean Stalteri returned at midfield and stopper, respectively, and consistently hustle and produce. Junior Nick Khoury is also working on defense and brings tenacity to the back line. Freshman German Franco is getting a feel for the speed of the varsity game and coming along nicely at halfback. His exceptional foot skills allow the coach to move him to center-midfield and Palacio to forward at times to keep the latter fresh. In goal, junior Jordan Ochs has gotten the majority of minutes and had a 14-save performance against Plainview.
Only two of Long Beach’s last six games will be played at home at the Middle School. Great Neck South visits on Friday at 4:15 p.m. and Carey comes to town Oct. 22 for a 4:30 p.m. start. The Marines also have a date with winless Mepham (0-5-2) on the road Oct. 16.
Comments about this story? TBellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 204.
Report an inappropriate comment
Comments