By Tony Bellissimo
The Spartans came from behind to capture the Conference B-V championship, beating Division in the regular-season finale and getting help elsewhere.
Sophomore Rubin Rosales scored twice, junior Andrew Burchett once, and junior goalie Robert Young turned aside 13 Dragons' shots to lead the way in a title-clinching 3-0 victory on Oct. 22.
"West Hempstead looked like it was going to win the conference until it lost its last three games," North coach Walter Bachman said. "The door was opened and we walked through. It was a great finish to a great season. And the best thing about it is we don't have any seniors."
Even though the Spartans lost 5-0 to top-seeded Jericho on Sunday in the first round of the Nassau Class B playoff tournament, they have lots to look forward to.
"We put up a pretty good showing in the first 15 minutes," said Bachman, who coaches basketball at Jericho. "Then they put two quick ones in and they had the momentum. We played evenly in the second half, but their experience won out."
The Spartans finished 7-2-1 in conference play and closed with a four-game win streak, including a 3-1 victory over West Hempstead and a 6-2 win over Malverne. Goalies Young and Alfred Miranda each had clutch performances, while Tommy Babst, Christian Rivera, Billy Boddy and Max Rodriguez provided the offense.
"We'll move up into Conference IV next year and I think we'll have no problems handling the jump," Bachman said.
Meanwhile, Valley Stream Central captured the Conference A-IV title in perfect fashion, going 9-0-1 and sealing its first playoff berth since 1994 with a 4-1 victory over Elmont on Oct. 21.
"The kids had a lot to prove," Coach John Squadrito said. "We thought we were good enough to be in a higher conference, but other people felt otherwise and we had to live with the conference we were placed in. I'm glad we won it."
The Eagles, who won two games in 2001, won 13 this year and suffered their only loss in the opening round of the Class A playoff tournament to top-ranked Massapequa. They were led by senior forward Sean Johnsen, who fittingly scored the game-winning goal against Elmont, heading in Nick LaPoma's corner kick to break a 1-1 tie late in the first half. Johnsen finished with 27 goals.
"Sean took charge of this team from the first day of practice," Squadrito said. "He's a true team leader and we had plenty of talented players around him."
Central's offense was dynamite all year long, scoring at least two goals in 13 of 16 games and four goals or more seven times. Johnsen, along with junior forwards David LaPoma (nine goals, 14 assists) and William Bell (four goals, 10 assists), were the standouts.
On the defensive side of the equation, senior goalkeeper Chris Kiefel broke a school record with nine shutouts. Senior stopper Jordan Lubeck anchored a defense that included Robert Siragusa, Joe Ferrandino, John Begley and Chris Nembhard.
"Determination and chemistry are the biggest things we had going," Squadrito said.
Rebuilding Valley Stream South struggled through the Conference B-I season with a 1-9-2 record and earned the No. 6 seed in the Class B playoff tournament. The Falcons, who won the Class B crown in 2000 and was runner-up to Wheatley a year ago, lost a 3-2 double-overtime thriller to Wantagh on Monday afternoon.
"The kids played hard," Coach Rich Boyd said. "They left everything they had out on the field. As a coach, I couldn't ask for a better effort. It was a tough, intense game that ended on a nice goal."
Junior Anthony Dimino and senior Danny Ortiz scored for South, which got a solid performance between the pipes by Tony Sedata. "He played big in a big spot," Boyd said of the sophomore goalie.
