The Freeport boys’ soccer team is still in the playoff hunt entering the final week of the regular season but will need to overcome its recent struggles if it wants to punch a ticket to the dance.
The Red Devils entered this week with a 4-6-1 conference record and need to finish .500 or better in division play to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight year. But time is running out and the schedule is not easy with games against Baldwin on Thursday and Syosset in the finale on Saturday which followed Tuesday’s matchup with Hempstead, which coach Craig Klasson labeled a “must win”.
Klasson knows his team has been resilient this season and thinks it may have one more push in them.
“I think we need guys to continue to fight no matter the circumstance,” he said. “Hopefully we can string it together and do something that will never be forgotten to make that kind of comeback.”
Freeport began last week with a 5-2 win at East Meadow on Oct. 3 – its second victory in the last three games – but suffered a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss at home to struggling Valley Stream Central three days later. The Red Devils rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second half to tie it, but Central scored off a desperation corner kick scramble as the buzzer sounded to win it.
“That’s pretty much how a lot of the season has gone,” Klasson said. “We have dominated a lot [and] we’ve been able to possess and control the game, but we just haven’t been able to find the back of the goal.”
Freeport then fell 3-1 to Mepham in a non-league game last Saturday, again tying the game early in the second half on junior Jean Mejia’s fifth goal of the season. But the Pirates converted their own corner kick four minutes later and scored again in the 58th minute to seal it.
“We unfortunately have conceded too many free kicks or corners,” Klasson ironically said hours before the Mepham game. “That’s kind of been the story unfortunately for this season.”
Senior Kazeem Scott leads the team with six goals, including one in the final minute that helped Freeport edge Uniondale 2-1 on Sept. 28. Mejia’s goal vaulted him into the team lead in points with nine and his four assists ties him with sophomore Lucca Noboa for best on the club.
“He’s taking on more responsibility,” Klasson said. “We rely on him to be our prominent forward, complimenting with Scott. He’s a top-100 player and has a bright future.”
Noboa has made strides from his freshman season with four goals, including two with an assist in the Red Devils’ 5-2 win at Herricks on Sept. 17.
Senior goalkeeper Victor Villatoro is another reason why Freeport is playing meaningful games in October by stopping over 70 shots this fall while averaging about seven a game. He and a defensive corps led by seniors Alexander Diaz and Brian Leon and junior Dylan Woodward has yielded two goals or less eight times.
