Thursday, October 1, 2026
Coach Pete Mastroda walked his players into the Valley Stream South gym during the preseason and asked them to look around at the banners.
It was evidence of a successful boys' soccer program and a desire to return to that.
The Falcons didn’t add another banner this fall, but they may have set the foundation for a winning culture with their first playoff appearance in eight years.
Valley Stream South ended the season at 5-7-3, a third-place finish in Nassau Conference A-I and the No. 8 seed in the Nassau ‘A’ playoffs.
The Falcons’ playoff adventure was a short one, a 6-1 defeat to top-seeded and undefeated Locust Valley in the quarterfinals Oct. 23.
But it was a critical step to take in a cultural shift.
A return to the playoffs, though was the last thing Mastroda was thinking at the start of the season, when, due to injury, he was left without a goalkeeper on his roster and his squad fell to Malverne/East Rockaway, 8-1, in the opener.
After utilizing field players, Mastroda found a response, convincing former junior varsity goalkeeper Caesar Arrigo to return to soccer and man the net again.
It changed the course of the season.
“The amount of confidence that gave the team really turned everything around because we had a legit goalkeeper and then we had the pieces around the field,” Mastroda said. “It gave us a sense we can run with anybody,”
That belief materialized in a clutch 1-0 win over Lynbrook that was followed by a 2-2 draw against reigning New York State champion Floral Park in late September.
That belief carried over to their first playoff game since 2017.
Junior Leo Garces (All-Conference) scored in the first half off an assist from sophomore All-County selection Luke Huczko, and Valley Stream South went into the second half tied 1-1 with mighty Locust Valley.
“There was no doubt they really believed they could do it,” Mastroda said.
Stefano Linardos scored a second-half hat trick and Lucas Mejia struck twice to help lead Locust Valley to victory.
And while the loss stings for the seniors, Mastroda is excited about the returning pieces, including junior left back Corell Chance, an All-Conference selection, as well as Huczko, Garces, and Sebastian Meneses, who was also named All-Conference.
The seniors, of course, will be missed, including Andrew Reyes, who earned All-County honors, and Abner Contreras (honorable mention All-County). The duo led by example, filling a need by playing center back.
And Sebastian Quezada battled through injury throughout the season to wear the captain’s armband with pride.
“Even though he was injured and even though he missed a lot of minutes, he still maintained his role as our captain right to the end, leading the guys before every game and pre-game talk,” Mastroda said.
Although another banner wasn’t raised at Valley Stream South, the expectations have.
“I think the expectation will be, making the playoffs won’t be the goal,” Mastroda said. “Advancing in the playoffs and getting a deeper run, I think they believe that’s possible.”
