South Side reaches title game

Two years ago South Side became the lowest-seeded team to ever capture the Nassau Class A boys’ soccer championship, doing so as the No. 13 with wins over three of the top four seeds along the way.

Now, the underdog Cyclones, seeded 10th, are knocking on the door of another county title after some late-game heroics last Friday night in the semifinals at Adelphi University. South Side scored twice in 38 seconds, including senior Thomas Doyle’s tiebreaking goal with 1:42 remaining, to stun No. 3 Mineola, 3-2.

“I can’t even explain the way I’m feeling right now,” said Doyle, who settled a crossing pass from senior Ryan Prendergast and drilled the winner past diving Mineola keeper Manny Mirao from about eight yards out. “It’s insane,” he added.

South Side’s bench and crowd were still buzzing from freshman Robert Reis’ game-tying goal on a rebound off the post with 2:20 to go when Doyle’s shot turned jubilation into euphoria. The Mustangs had taken a 2-1 lead on Luis Tinoco’s goal with 8:43 left. 

“The last few minutes was chaos and calm at the same time,” Cyclones coach Fred Paul said. “Reis showed composure putting in the rebound from the shot off the post, and the third goal was beautiful. 

“Mineola played a strong game and we didn’t play our best,” he added. “But our guys didn’t want to hand their jerseys in. They never stopped working and never stopped believing.”

Prendergast scored off a scramble in the crease with 2:54 left in the first half to pull the Cyclones even after the Mustangs struck first on standout Dimas Cabrera’s left-footed blast 10 minutes earlier. South Side senior goalkeeper Jake Camarillo made eight saves. Mirao made six stops. 

South Side (11-3-4) advanced to meet top-seeded Glen Cove, in search of its first county crown since 1967, in the Class A final on Wednesday night at Adelphi. The undefeated and untied Big Red (18-0-0) beat the Cyclones, 2-1, in the Conference A-2 regular-season finale Oct. 13. 

“They beat us, but we’re not scared to play them,” Doyle said of Glen Cove, which steamrolled No. 4 Plainedge, 4-0, in last Friday’s other semifinal. “We’re ready.”

South Side, which seeks its fourth county title since 2008, all under Paul, upset its biggest rival, second-seeded Jericho, 3-1, on the road in the quarterfinals Oct. 25 behind a pair of penalty kick goals off the foot of senior defender Pat Basile, and an insurance tally by Prendergast. “It was the fourth time in the last five years we met Jericho in the playoffs,” Paul said. “It’s always interesting and intense.”

Basile scored the lone goal in the Cyclones’ first-round playoff victory at No. 7 Wantagh on Oct. 21.

“We’ve refused to let certain players beat us,” said Paul, who lauded the defensive efforts of Basile, Connor Gallego, Ryan D’Accordo, Will Speechley, Charles Silecchia and Kiernan Mooney throughout the postseason. “I can’t say enough about how well everyone has executed their assignments,” he added.