The soccer was never better along the shores of Hempstead Harbor last fall.
North Shore’s boys team made the Glen Head/Sea Cliff area proud with an unbeaten regular season at 9-0-3. The Vikings went on to the Nassau Class A semifinals, losing to Floral Park 1-0.
Turns out that wasn’t a bad loss. Floral Park marched on to win the state championship. That’s how close North Shore was to true greatness.
“We had a great season,’’ said Vikings coach Mike Bishop, who will start his 10th season. “It was our best season since the 1990s. It was a big year for us. We fell a little short but it was still a good year.’’
The year after is not as clear-cut as eight starters graduated, including creative stars, forward Leno Leighton, and midfielder Griffin Pinter.
The 2025 Vikings will be spearheaded by seniors Henry Cardoza, Lorenzo Riccuiti and Amos Wright.
“I‘ve been pleasantly surprised,’’ Bishop said. “The juniors from last year are very good players and I’m surprised with the 10th graders coming up playing well. I think we’ll be competitive.’’
The top returning goal scorer is Cardoza, who notched 8 tallies during the unbeaten run. Cardoza played midfield last season but in need of pure goal-scoring, Bishop may use him some at forward.
“He’s a very strong player, very technical player,’’ Bishop said. “He’s very skilled on the ball, a good, smart player.’’
Cardoza and Riccuiti will be in charge of creating an attack. “(Riccuiti) is a midfielder who is all over the field,’’ Bishop said. “He’s got great vision and also is very technical.’’
Senior Amos Wright is also midfielder but Bishop may use him as a defender with so many defenders having graduated. “He’s a very smart player and we’ll need him to start multiple positions,’’ Bishop said. “Very talented player.’’
The Maroon may be just as strong in goal with Finn Duffy, who played sparingly in 2024. Since-graduated Tristan Segal was last season’s starter, barely beating out Duffy.
“We’re not going to be too much of a drop,’’ Bishop said. “He’ll be a very good keeper. He was ready last year. We decided to go with Tristan. It was a close competition between the two.’’
Seniors Colin Davison and Kaiden Smith highlight the defensive corps. Davison started some games at centerback but Bishop said, “It was tough to get him in there. He’s a tough defender with good instincts, likes to win the ball and is strong in the air.’’
Last season, North Shore posted three ties Lawrence twice and Plainedge. Those two schools probably will be factors in the race for the Conference A2 title.
“It’s tough to know,’’ Bishop said of winning the conference title. “We’ve had a good opening to the preseason. A lot of guys have arrived in good shape so I think we’re going to have a good season. A lot depends on the other teams in the conference, how strong they are.’’
