By STEVE SINISKI
"We have a bunch of seniors who've been around and certainly the experiences from last year have helped," Baldwin coach Rich Gargiulo said. "For us it's a matter of executing. No matter the opponent, if we execute we can more than hold our own against anyone.
"You see certain athletes walk with a swagger, but it's not cockiness. We have that confidence about ourselves and I think part of that is from us being down and coming back [to win several games]."
Indeed, the Bruins toppled yet another team that entered 2003 with lofty expectations in yet another game decided in the closing minutes. After knocking off both Syosset (a No. 1 seed in Nassau County) and West Islip (a top seed in Suffolk) earlier in the year, Baldwin added a No. 2 seed to the list with a 10-6 win over last year's Nassau County Champions Lynbrook. The Owls tied the game at 6-6 midway through the fourth quarter on May 3, but the never-say-die Bruins exploded for four goals in the final 5:23.
"We're a pretty deep team and I think we wore Lynbrook down," Gargiulo said of the Bruins late-game heroics. "We didn't stop believing and created two quick scoring opportunities when Lynbrook was trying to clear the ball. Transition has been our bread and butter [all season]."
For all of the goals the Bruins have generated the key to their success lies not with the scorers up front, but the midfielders behind them who may not show up in the final boxscore on many occasions. "Our middies have done a great job but gotten little recognition," Gargiulo said. "They're racking up [plenty of] assists but they may not get the credit for it."
The midfielders have absorbed perhaps the most responsibility, yet they've accepted it and turned into the driving force behind a team averaging 11.2 goals per game. Led by seniors Greg Woythaler, Kevin Freehill and Eric Wolf, along with Chris Hannon, Will Barrow, Teddy Murray, Josh Cittiadano, Kevin Reilly and Michael Hoover, Baldwin has developed the perfect mix of experience and depth to overpower opponents. While the upperclassmen have been at the leading edge of the offensive charge, the path they've built for the younger players has been equally as important.
"All of younger guys get some playing time but it's the experience of watching [the upperclassmen] going up and down the field [that's really helped]," Gargiulo said. "Because when they do get out on the field the same [type of work] is expected."
If there is a secret weapon for the Bruins, it's on the defensive side of the field. Efosa Goubadia has developed into one of the more consistent goaltenders around, but it's some of the other things he does that often have the biggest impact. "Defensively we don't give up too many shots," Gargiulo said. "But Efosa [Goubadia] comes out of his cage and picks up grounders. He's definitely a presence out there. He and our defense help to get our offense going, because teams know that if they take a bad shot we can move it out [quickly]."
