By TONY BELLISSIMO
But he'll take it.
"Incredible," Squadrito said after Central improved to 3-0 in Conference A-IV and 7-0 overall with a convincing 5-0 victory at Mepham last week. "I thought we'd be able to score, but not at this pace. We also have three straight shutouts, so it's not like we're struggling on defense or anything like that."
Senior forward Sean Johnsen continued his torrid goal scoring with a four-goal effort against the Pirates. That upped his total on the young season to 18. Senior halfback Lou Tedesco also scored, and senior goalie Chris Kiefel made 10 saves for his fourth shutout.
"I attribute the way we're playing and the fast start to a combination of attitude, confidence and chemistry," Squadrito said. "I felt all along that we were good enough to be in a higher conference, but we were moved to A-IV and we have a lot to prove."
Only the conference champion from A-IV qualifies for the playoffs, but if the opening month is any indication, Central's going to be the one.
"We showing all the signs that we'll be able to battle for first place, and that's the only way we can get into the playoffs," Squadrito said. "Something always seemed to go wrong in each of the past few years, but this is a very unselfish team and I don't think we're weak in any area."
The Eagles are scoring at a clip any team would be proud of. They've netted at least two goals in each of their seven games and have scored four or more times in five games. Johnsen, along with juniors David LaPoma (six goals) and William Bell (three), have done most of the damage. Johnsen has scored in every game.
"Watching them work together is a lot of fun," Squadrito said. "If teams double-up on Sean, we have David and William and a host of others that can do the job."
Not to be outdone, the Eagles' defense has passed every test so far. The group in front of Kiefel is being led by Jordan Lubeck, Robert Siragusa, Joe Ferrandino, John Begley and Chris Nembhard.
"We have a couple of standouts but the supporting cast is going to be important if we're going to keep winning and go far," Squadrito said. "Teams are going to play us much tougher the second time around. Games are always closer later in the season, so we can't get too ahead of ourselves. We want to enjoy the wins and move forward."
The Eagles visit Elmont this Thursday, Oct. 3, and begin the second half of the conference schedule on Oct. 7 at Uniondale. Central beat the Knights on Sept. 19, 4-3, behind two goals apiece from Johnsen and LaPoma.
Central girls tie state champs
By TONY BELLISSIMO
In what coach Cristina Canle called "the most complete game we've played so far," the Valley Stream Central girls soccer team went toe-to-toe with perennial power South Side last week at Fireman's Field.
The Lady Eagles had the two-time defending state Class A champions on the ropes for a good portion of the contest and led on two separate occasions. But the Lady Cyclones got a goal from Jenna Lucchesi with nine minutes left to make it 2-2, and there was no scoring in overtime.
"We didn't have to tie them, they had to tie us," Canle said. "I'm very proud. They capitalized on the only two mistakes we made. But I think we helped out some of the other teams in our conference by playing such a tough and close game against South Side."
Seniors Kerri Kelty and Stephanie Bulko scored for Central, which out-shot the visitors by a 13-8 margin. Senior goalie Meghan Mannion made six saves.
A busy week for the Lady Eagles was capped by a 1-0 defeat at Massapequa on Saturday. The setback dropped their Conference I record to 2-2-1.
"Some days we show up and play well; other days we're not quite ourselves," Canle said. "We played a decent game against Massapequa, but we can play a lot better. In this conference, every game is up for grabs. You have to work for the full 80 minutes, and sometimes even more."
Two of Central's five conference games have gone into overtime. The first one was a disappointing 2-1 loss at Oceanside that saw the Lady Eagles blow a lead.
"We learned a lot from that loss," Canle said. "I'm glad the lesson was taught to us early. We're looking forward to playing Oceanside again in a few weeks."
The Lady Eagles sandwiched shutout victories over Garden City and East Meadow around the loss to Oceanside. Bulko scored twice and Kelty added a goal in a 3-0 season-opening win over Garden City, while junior Alyssa Fanno and senior Christina Gonzalez provided the offense in a 2-0 win over East Meadow.
Another three-game week is on tap, including a rematch versus Garden City on Thursday, Oct. 3 at Fireman's Field.
