By TONY BELLISSIMO
The Seahawks, after scoring once in their Conference AA-II opening tie with Mepham, were blanked 2-0 by MacArthur last Thursday. “We haven’t finished,” coach Matt Princi said. “We’re not getting that last touch the way it should be. We took more than 10 shots in the first half against MacArthur. We just couldn’t get a goal.”
However, the coach fully expects the offense to come around and lead Carey to a playoff berth a year after it came up short of reaching the postseason with a young team and a record of 3-7-4. “We have 15 juniors and most of them got quality playing time last year,” Princi said. “I feel we’ll be good enough to be a playoff team. It’ll be disappointing if we’re not.”
The absence of senior stopper Jonis Gaitan, an All-Conference selection who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, hasn’t helped the Seahawks out of the gate. He could return by the middle of October, but Princi isn’t banking on it. The return of junior sweeper Enthony Barba, who plays on a premier club team, is great news for the back row and junior goalkeeper Karmvir Singh. “Enthony’s a phenomenal talent and it’s important for us to have him in uniform every game,” Princi said. Junior Peter Rosini has filled in nicely for Gaitan, and juniors Joe and Mike Marino make for a physical set of fullbacks. “The Marinos are consistent and tough to beat,” the coach added.
The injury to Gaitan also leaves captain David Formoso as the lone senior expected to make a major contribution. Formoso, a three-year varsity performer, handles all the free kicks and corners and generates a lot of offense from the center-midfield and forward positions. He’ll do the majority of his work in the middle should junior speedster Steven Matthew and freshman Teddy Matozzo continue to click like they did in the conference opener. Matthew, who was All-County in the 100-meter dash last spring, converted a pass from Matozzo for the tying goal. “Steven’s always a threat because he can blow by people,” Princi said. “He’s going to drive defenses crazy.” Matozzo was brought up to the varsity roster just prior to the opener and seems destined to stick after impressing the coaching staff.
Junior captain Chris Martelli can provide an offensive spark from the midfield at any time and is bound for big things. Another junior, Besender Moise, is technically a defensive middie but he’s no stranger to the attack zone.
Though Conference AA-II has a different feel with MacArthur, Mepham and Freeport on board, Princi is optimistic the Seahawks will finish in the top four and make the playoffs. “The four teams that make the playoffs will have earned it,” he said.
Comments about this story? TBellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
