Thursday, October 1, 2026
Valley Stream Central's boys’ soccer team does not have a shortage of uber talented seniors. But it does have a shortage of high school playing experience.
Most of its starters graduated as 18 seniors moved on. But the squad has replenished the losses with a host of intriguing players who are playing their first year of high -school soccer, including star player, senior Liam Rios.
Having elevated from Conference AA1 to AAA, the Eagles were off to a 2-4 start.
''There's a lot of them who didn't play last year, some who moved into the school or just didn't play,'' coach Bill Miller said. "There's not a lot of them with experience playing at the high-school level.''
Rios was at VSC but ineligible to play because he attended a prestigious soccer academy. Now a senior, Rios is leading the squad at midfield, posting 3 goals and 3 assists Rios is one of 13 seniors.
"Liam is tremendous player in terms of his foot skills and work rate,'' Miller said. "He does a lot of things, with his ball distribution and great vision. He puts the ball in places for his teammates not many can do and is good with both feet.''
Despite being his first year, Rios was voted captain, known as a good leader. He's getting loos from college soccer coaches. "Someone the kids respect and look up to,'' Miller said. "When one of your best players is one of your hardest workers, that's really important.''
The team's best sniper is senior forward Dasanie McMurrine, who has 3 goals and the game-winner in VSC's 4-3 win over Baldwin Sept. 17.
A lefty foot, McMurrine moved from Jamaica and is in his first season. "He's got a lot of speed, really dangerous just for his speed alone. He can run by anyone at any time,” Miller said.
Last season, Central posted a 5-3-7 record, with an inordinate amount of ties. In the playoffs, it lost to Great Neck North in the first round, 1-0.
"We had a lot of ties last season,'' senior defender Jason Soto said. "It's definitely frustrating how close those games were and not capitalizing on chances.''
Soto and fellow defender Anthony Cisneros are the only two full-time starters back from 2024.
"I bring an intensity, try to up the spirts of the team and bring everyone together,'' Soto said.
Tae-Sean Fritz is another important piece – a striker who moved from Jamaica a couple of years ago but didn't go out for soccer until now. He has a goal and a pair of assists.
"It's definitely an adjustment with the new guys coming in,'' Soto said. "The seniors leaving last year hurts us a bit. But we've held our own. I think we have a good chance of playoffs.''
A .500 conference record would get VSC into the postseason. Its other victory is over Massapequa. Its most heartbreaking defeat came against East Meadow, 3-2 in the final minute.
"The scores might not reflect it but a lot of competitive games,'' Miller said. "Even though our record is 2-4, we have an ability to have success.''
The goalkeeper is Alex Brewster, who played JV last season because the team was stacked at goalie. In fact, its standout Isaiah Smith, the conference's goalie of the year, was supposed to return for his senior year but opted to go to Germany to sign with a professional league.
In any event, the Eagles aren’t to be taken lightly.
