Thursday, October 1, 2026
Baldwin’s boys soccer team has tackled plenty of adversity in the first month of its season but remains in position for a late playoff push.
The Bruins have been without the services of standout junior midfielder Lennix Batres since he suffered an injury after a season-opening 1-0 win against Freeport Sept. 2, and also had senior central midfielder Justin Jarvis sidelined for much of September.
Baldwin (2-5-2) has also seen other key players taken off the field throughout the early part of the schedule, but has persevered through the challenges to enter October in contention for a postseason berth in Conference AAA.
The perseverance displayed by Baldwin so far was highlighted in a 3-3 tie at Herricks on Sept. 14 in which the Bruins rallied from three one-goal deficits to earn a draw. They appeared headed to a heartbreaking defeat when Herricks’ Jimmy George scored with just 18 seconds left in the second half before Baldwin responded quickly off the ensuing kickoff with junior forward Matt Foster tallying the tying goal just 10 seconds later.
“It’s something I have never seen in my career as a player or coach to have two goals that were that meaningful in the last 18 seconds of a game,” Baldwin coach Chris Soupios said of Foster’s late tying goal with just eight seconds remaining “You have to have the luck of the ball landing in the right spot, you have to make the right touch first and then you have to finish it and he did all three in that moment.”
Baldwin came away with a point against Herricks with Foster's heroics despite being down one player in the last 18 minutes of the second half. Senior midfielder Michael Grannum and senior defender Kelvin Reyes Santos both netted a goal apiece in the second half off headers from throw-ins by Foster as part of the comeback effort.
The Bruins followed up the Herricks draw with a 0-0 tie two days later at Plainview-JFK where the team played without three players due to injury and one due to suspension. Junior goalkeeper Jelani Jean Francois recorded 10 saves.
After back-to-back 1-0 losses to Uniondale and Valley Stream Central, Baldwin got back in the win column with a 2-1 home victory against Hicksville Sept. 24. Senior defender Avery Witter, who took over for an injured Grannum in the midfield, netted the game winning goal with seven minutes left off a crossing pass from Jackson Roberts. Giaccomo Madueno Castillo also scored two minutes into the match for a 1-0 lead.
Soupios credits sophomore defenseman Joseph Guiracocha with anchoring a Baldwin defense with senior Max Ascencio-Cueva, Reyes Santos, Roberts and Witter that has held opponents to a goal or less in five matches.
“This kid has been an absolute warrior,” Soupios said of Guiracocha. “He has been locking up the best players on the other teams.”
Baldwin will look to kick off its October schedule strong with a Friday match at Farmingdale. starting at 5 p.m.
