Locust Valley rises to top

Seven games into what was shaping up as a statement/turnaround season, the Locust Valley boys’ soccer team slammed into a reality check.
Eventual Nassau Conference BC champion Cold Spring Harbor sent the visiting Falcons – who had entered the teams’ Sept. 30 meeting as surprise BC leaders at 4-1-1 – spiraling earthward with a 5-2 setback. For the first time all autumn, a chastened Locust Valley – still within earshot of echoes from its 0-9 spring – felt it had been simply overmatched.
“That game challenged us because we felt like we just couldn’t win,” said longtime coach Joe Lee. “It made us say, ‘Where are we? Can we get back?’ We knew after Cold Spring Harbor that, if we wanted to compete, we’d have to be better on defense. So we moved some key pieces around.”
When the teams met again a month later for higher stakes, it was the reconfigured Falcons doing the flummoxing. With senior Jack Ginsberg – en route to his first All-County nod – moved from midfield to center back, Locust Valley would take 2-1 double-overtime revenge against the Seahawks in the Nassau Class B final Oct. 28, netting the Falcons (6-4-2 BC) their first county title.
“The boys saw that game as, ‘We need to get them back,’ which made it more special,” said Lee, whose club boasted BC’s top offense scoring 2.16 goals per game. “Switching Jack to defense made us stronger in the back, and allowed our offense to grow.”

Doubts regarding the return of junior Brandon Villanueva – sidelined in spring by injury (back) – did not have much time to fester. The Locust Valley forward – who joined Ginsberg on the All-County roster along with teammate Johnny Guillen (sophomore) – had a hat trick in a 4-2 season-opening win at home against Oyster Bay.
“Very few players I’ve coached have the natural ability Brandon has,” Lee said of the third year-starter whose 16 points led all BC scorers (tied), and whose 10 goals ranked second in league. “When he got that hat trick right off the bat, and we won, it made us think this season could be special. It was very emotional for the team. The frustrations from the past year, we were able to release that. Our hopes were coming to fruition.”
Guillen finished fourth in league with six goals, while senior forward Charles Jacobs – who assisted on Villanueva’s title-clinching tally against CSH – had four goals for Locust Valley.
Boding well for the Falcons’ already active hopes of a title defense, young defenders Daniel Greene and Daniel Ceja, and fellow sophomore William Guillen (midfielder) – all second-year starters – earned All-Conference honors this fall, while junior goalkeeper Miklos Argyelan had 48 saves as a first-year starter.
“We’re bringing back a core of seven starters,” Lee said. “Last year was a building season, and this season the chemistry came together. Now that players see we can be the best, I think there’s a shift in our thinking. We know nothing’s automatic; we’ll always have to work. But we won’t be underdogs next year.”