Thursday, October 1, 2026
After another slow start out of the gates for Baldwin’s (3-3-4) boys’ soccer team, it stares down a similar scenario from a year ago; win two of the last four matches and the Bruins punch their ticket to the playoffs.
That’s easier said than done, with Port Washington (7-2) and Syosset (6-2-1) coming up on the ledger. An emerging Plainview team that is riding a two-game win streak, with one of those wins coming against Uniondale, will host Baldwin this Saturday at 7 p.m.
“Last year, we needed to win four out of our last five games to make the playoffs,” Baldwin coach Chris Soupios said. “We’re going to be playing four really good teams. The truth of the matter is, we’ll know on Thursday if that resiliency really is there for our team.”
While the Bruins started this season 1-3-2, they’re 2-0-2 in their last four. Seniors Emilzon Lovos and Devonte Young scored in a 2-0 victory over Westbury Sept. 20. Six days later, Abraham Orelena and Allan Parades-Morales scored to lead a 2-0 win over Hempstead.
For Soupios in August, resiliency was the key to success. While that may still be true, consistency is needed for Baldwin to make a run.
“I think it’s consistency. We need to make sure that when we’re tired late in the game, we’re staying in our shape, we’re communicating in the second half the same way we do in the first 10 minutes,” Soupios said.
In those crucial moments, two top performers have been leaned on.
“You’re relying on those players consistently to make plays,” Soupios said. “The guys who showed it last year was Matt Alexandre. He was a centerback last year, he’s All-County and he’s a midfielder for us this year. When he’s on, he really controls the pace of play and our level of possession.
“You’ve got Erick Ramos, who’s just an absolute workhorse for us,” Soupios said about the senior center-midfielder. “He gives everything he has, every single game he plays and I think you get the same thing from a guy like Lovos. They’re just guys who have a lot of heart.”
Young has made an impact on the attack by leading his team in goals with five and points with 12. On the back end, senior goalkeeper Antonio Lopez-Aguilar has tallied 44 saves in 10 games and a pair of recent shutouts, including an 8-save effort versus Hempstead.
A handful of others have contributed to the success. Parades, sophomore midfielder Lennix Batres, junior defenseman Max Ascencio-Cueva, junior midfielder Michael Grannum, junior defenseman Bryan Martinez and senior center back Oscar Garcia.
Baldwin sits in seventh place in Conference AAA with playoff hopes still alive. A .500 record or better earns you at least a play-in game.
“Goal one is to get in the playoffs,” Soupios said. “That’s a tremendous challenge with the opponents we have coming up, but for us it's one game at a time.”
