Sailors embark on tough route

Oceanside boys’ soccer coach Chuck Phelan put together a rugged early season schedule to gauge what the Sailors needed to work on leading up to the Conference I opener against Freeport.

“It’s always my philosophy to schedule the toughest competition we can find,” said Phelan, who set up a scrimmage against defending Nassau Class A champion South Side and non-league games versus defending county Class AA champ Hicksville and Class A quarterfinalist Lynbrook. “It gives me an idea about how we stack up against high-caliber teams, and also shows what we need to work on specifically,” he added.

The Sailors, who went 2-6-4 in Conference I in the final year of ability grouping and knocked off East Meadow in the playoffs before falling to Calhoun, will face some new opponents with the county going to enrollment-based conferences. Massapequa, Syosset and Farmingdale returned to Conference I, but Hicksville, Calhoun and Port Washington were replaced by Freeport, Hempstead and Uniondale.

“It’s going to be an interesting year,” Phelan said. “Half of the schedule is new. I’m confident we’ll have a better record than last year, but I still have some things to figure out.”

One of those is the goalkeeping situation. The tremendous play of both senior Billy Cohen and junior Brian Wolfe has delayed the anointing of a starter for the conference opener. Between the South Side scrimmage and two non-league games, each played three halves. “Both could start for any team in the county,” Phelan said. “They’re playing really well.”

There’s a chance the entire starting defense will be new. Two defenders graduated, and it’s likely junior Casey Densing and sophomore Mike Kaniatyn will switch positions to bolster the midfield. Junior Corey Seeger has locked down the starting sweeper position after gaining valuable varsity experience a year ago. The other three defensive spots remain up for grabs between six or seven candidates, Phelan said, and he wouldn’t rule out a rotation.

“Practices have been intense,” Phelan said. “We’ve had some good inner competition. Everyone knows there are open positions all over the field.”

One thing is certain: Densing will be a key at both ends of the field. “He generates offense with his ability to distribute and is a great marker on defense,” Phelan said. “He’s not afraid to get physical and fights for every loose ball.”

If the defense continues to struggle as it did against South Side and Hicksville, Kaniatyn could return to the back row. Senior Kevin Valencia and junior Luciano Arra are versatile enough to play more than one position as well. One could work at forward with senior Nick Iadevio, who battled injury most of last season but came through with a pair of goals in the playoff win over East Meadow. “If Nick stays healthy, he’ll be a huge factor,” Phelan said. “He has a strong, accurate shot.”