South Side battles through adversity

South Side’s boys’ soccer team enters the final phase of the regular season eyeing one of the top seeds in the Class A playoffs despite losing its team leader to injury.

After falling to Garden City 2-0 on Sept. 26, the Cyclones stormed through their schedule with an eight match unbeaten streak. South Side enters the end of the regular season with just two losses despite senior forward/midfielder Stephen Nelson going down with a season-ending shoulder injury in late September.

“We have handled the adversity and the team has responded and stepped up,” third-year coach Patrick Corvetti said of the loss of Nelson, a Navy commit who had 10 goals prior to being sidelined. “I moved some guys around to different positions and told them someone has to step up to fill Stephen’s void and the guys are responding.”

In Nelson’s absence, the Cyclones have been getting contributions on offense from Mike Benfante, Luca Tarulli, Ronan Tarpey and Connor Fernandez. Tarpey and Fernanzez  both registered two goals apiece in South Side’s 6-2 win at Malverne-East Rockaway on Oct. 3 while Tarulli netted a hat-trick in a 5-0 victory against Elmont last Saturday.

The Cyclones’ defense has also been strong this season recording six shutouts and holding teams to one goal or less in eight matches. The backline features Ryan Walsh, Matt Buglione. TJ Brul and Patrick Costello. Senior Ryan Curtis was moved from defense to midfield following the injury to Nelson. 

“The defense has been the backbone of the team,” Corvetti said. “A lot of teams are only getting one shot per game so they have really locked it down back there.”

Senior goalkeeper Ryan Coico has stood tall in net after serving as a backup last year. Coico recorded five saves in a 3-1 win against Carey on Oct. 10.

The unbeaten streak came to an end Monday evening with a 3-1 setback to unbeaten Garden City at Adelphia’s Motamed Field. Buglione had the lone goal for the Cyclones in the second half after the team trailed 2-0 at halftime, which marked just the fourth goal Garden City has surrendered this season. 

The Cyclones conclude their regular season Wednesday at 5 p.m. with a home match against New Hyde Park at Peter Bralower Soccer Field. South Side needs a win to keep hopes alive for top four seed in the Class A playoffs, which would earn a first round bye into the quarterfinals.

When the postseason commences, South Side will be looking to write a different script from the last two seasons when it saw its season end in penalty kicks in the round of 16. The Cyclones lost 12 seniors from that 2022 team that was just a point away from a conference title, but many of this season’s starters were part of last fall’s heartbreak and fueled for a deeper postseason run. 

“It's a great group of guys and I’m having a great time with this group,” Corvetti said. “They are working hard and playing hard.”