East Meadow makes strides

The future appears bright for East Meadow, which entered the final week of the regular season with a spot in the Nassau Class AA boys’ soccer playoffs in mind after failing to win a conference game a year ago and with just two conference victories since 2015.
Though the Jets (4-8) came up short, losing twice to Long Beach and once to Plainview over a four-day span, coach Bryan Horrmann knows they left everything on the field. “They took missing the playoffs hard, but at the same time the kids coming back are excited for next year,” he said after Monday’s finale. “It was nice to be playing for something down the stretch. They worked hard and tried their best,” he added.
Officially, East Meadow’s playoff fate was sealed last Saturday with a 2-0 defeat at Plainview. This after last Friday’s 4-1 loss at Long Beach in a game moved from its home field due to weather conditions.
The junior-laded Jets had reached .500 with four games remaining thanks to a big 3-2 victory over Westbury on Oct. 4. Junior John Castillo scored twice, junior Michael Posillico had a goal and two assists, and senior goalkeeper Julian Quaresima made eight saves in what Horrmann described as the most memorable performance of the campaign.
“It was a hard-fought win that brought the guys to believe in themselves,” Horrmann said. “They recognized they could play with anyone. It’s just a matter of putting it together with a little more consistency.”

The Jets will need to replace their goalie tandem of Quaresima and classmate Andrew Carbonari, as well as their leading defender, senior sweeper Omar Benthami, who Horrmann said “made tremendous strides in the back and put the group on his shoulders.” The good news is anyone who scored a goal in 2018 will return.
Posillico moved to forward to join Castillo after a hip injury derailed fast-starting sophomore Eric Velasquez midway through the season. Velasquez scored five goals in six games. “It was unfortunate to have to shut Eric down,” Horrmann said. “He just finds ways to get behind the defense and makes things happen.”
Posillico finished with three goals and three assists, while Castillo netted four goals. “Posillico played some stopper and midfield and then forward and he was a presence wherever we used him,” Horrmann said. What Castillo lacks in prototypical size he makes up for with heart and toughness, the coach noted. “He scored a couple of times off a corner and a couple of times off crosses,” he said.
Junior playmaking midfielder Samuel Nkrumah led the team in assists with six. “He always gets doubled, but he was very good vision and changes direction on a dime,” Horrmann said. “He’s the key to our transition.”
Juniors Reuben Seczesny and Alan Gonzalez saw the bulk of minutes at fullback, and sophomore Lucas Nicolau served as the primary starting stopper. Horrmann was comfortable with either choice in goal. Quaresima led the way with 75 saves. “Both goalies gave us the opportunity to win,” he said.