Thursday, October 1, 2026
The last meaningful match Lawrence’s boys’ soccer team would play in 2011 was a microcosm of its season as a whole: full of promise, but inevitably disappointing.
The Golden Tornadoes (3-6-2 in Conference A-V, 4-7-2 overall), needing a win to stay alive in the race for a postseason berth, had their playoff hopes dashed Oct. 20 with a 5-2 loss at Bethpage. The Golden Eagles, also needing a win to stay afloat in the playoff hunt, didn’t look like the same team that was handily beaten by Lawrence just four weeks earlier.
Bethpage coach Steve Franzke said his team had extra motivation because it was the last home game for the seniors on his roster. “The guys were ready to go,” Franzke added. “The game was under the lights and in front of our home crowd. I didn’t have to do much to get them excited for tonight. Our seniors really stepped up.”
Sophomore forward Piero Mannino put Bethpage up 1-0 with his fourth goal of the season in the seventh minute. The fleet-footed star made no mistake with the chance, pounding the ball waist-high past Lawrence’s freshman goalkeeper Kevin Cancinos. In the 23rd minute, Golden Eagles senior midfielder Joey Walsh found the back of the net to open up a 2-0 advantage for the home side. Lawrence had three scoring opportunities in the last 10 minutes of the first half, and finally broke through on a strike from senior forward Edgar Quintanilla to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 5:53 remaining before the midway mark.
Golden Eagles senior forward Jesse House stole the show when action resumed after halftime, as he scored two goals in the final 39 minutes of play. House found himself on a breakaway after slicing past two Lawrence defenders, and scored to give his team a 3-1 edge just 48 seconds into the second half. Minutes later, Lawrence suffered another tough break when star forward Edgar Quintanilla suffered an ankle injury that forced him out of the match. With the Golden Tornadoes’ best player watching helplessly from the sidelines, it was up to Edgar’s brother Carlos to push the pace of the offense. Lawrence would come as close as 4-2, when Carlos Quintanilla scored on a penalty kick after being tripped within the 18-yard box. But House fired back and neutralized Quintanilla’s tally with a score in the final minute of action to seal the 5-2 win for Bethpage.
Lawrence coach Patrick Leary said “missed opportunities” was the common theme of the Golden Tornadoes’ 2011 season. “We have great ball possession and play decent soccer, but it’s results-oriented,” he added. “I wanted so much for these guys to have success and I’m just disappointed for them, especially the seniors. They worked hard and it just didn’t go our way. They gave it their all until the final minute and they should be proud of their effort.”
