Late goal propels Oceanside over VSC

Oceanside’s Luca Ancona couldn’t have picked a better time to score his first career varsity soccer goal — playoff time.

With overtime looming in a Nassau Class AA outbracket game between the Sailors and visiting Valley Stream Central on Oct. 22, Acosta broke toward the cage as his cousin, Francesco, released a shot. Eagles junior goalkeeper Daniel Melgar, who was dynamite throughout, made a juggling save but Luca converted on the rebound with 4:42 remaining in regulation to give No. 11 Oceanside a 1-0 victory.

“I saw the goalie bobble the ball and the only thing running through my mind was ‘don’t miss,’” Luca said. “We didn’t want overtime.”

Senior Alec Somerstein stopped seven shots to earn his third shutout of the year for the Sailors (9-5-2 overall), who advanced to meet Westbury. Melgar made 10 saves for No. 14 Central (6-7-2), which played without leading scorer Jamie Quiroz, a junior who was issued a controversial red card in the regular-season finale six days earlier. 

“I’m proud of how hard the kids battled,” VSC coach Lenny Fiorentino said. “I think each of them took their game up a notch to make up for missing Jamie. He’s a difference-maker and one of the leading scorers in the county.”

Quiroz scored a team-leading 12 goals and tied for the team lead in assists (seven) with senior midfielder Rashaan Robe. Robe, who had six goals, proved slippery for the Oceanside defense in the first half and attracted two defenders each time he touched the ball in the second half. The Sailors were led in the back row by junior Joseph DiMiceli, who kept the coast clear in front of Somerstein. 

“He’s been our most valuable player all year,” Oceanside coach Joe Pumo said of DiMiceli, who had a golden scoring chance in the first half but his header from the doorstep clanged off the post and rolled out of bounds. “Physically, he’s been dominating back there,” he added. “He’s our vocal leader and the other guys feed off him.”

Senior Andrew Hawk and junior Kyle Porcano also served as defensive workhorses for the Sailors, who were knocking on the door for 10 minutes before Ancona’s goal. Melgar’s best stop came with 13 minutes left when he denied Jason Rosa from close range. Rosa and fellow juniors Shane Monaghan and Joseph Mesoraca are tied for the team lead in points with nine.

“A lot of times all it takes is one goal,” Fiorentino said. “Both teams came to play. It’s a tough loss, but the future of our program looks good.”

The Eagles received strong defensive efforts from senior Miguel Guerrero, juniors Che Fernandez and Olivier Previl, and sophomore Fernando Alvarez.

“They’re a good squad, but I thought we had a slight advantage as far as the play went,” Pumo said. “We had a bunch of quality chances we weren’t able to put away. Fortunately, Luca was in the right place at the right time and got the goal everyone was waiting for.”