Baldwin boasts junior-led roster

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Baldwin’s boys’ soccer team shifted to Conference AA-3 this fall on the heels of reaching the county quarterfinals with a senior-led team last season.

The Bruins field a junior-heavy team in 2016 with two key seniors, Leo Vanegas and Jordi Pesantes, returning as starters but taking on new roles. Vanegas will move to a more offensive game as a midfield attacker, while Pesantes will take a step back from offense to an outside defender position. 

As a first-year varsity player last year, Vanegas earned All-Conference honors and his coaches expect him to repeat that status of play in 2016.  “Leo sees the field very well and is not scared to take a good, hard shot,” head coach Mike Palumbo said.

What the coach likes most about Pesantes is his poise. “Mike is cool and collected and tells everyone to calm down, that everything’s going to be okay,” Palumbo said. 

Pesantes will join a defensive line that features another All-Conference standout, junior John Gamble, a third-year player who Palumbo calls his most important returnee. Gamble typically plays offense, but his defensive skills are so solid that he is switching to the sweeper position this season. 

“Instead of being the guy who scores the goals, he’s going to control our defense and lead our team from the back up,” Palumbo said.

Assisting Gable on defense is returning starting juniors, Juan Gordillo and Christian Gauthier, a pair of center backs. Two sophomores with promise will see some time on defense: Sean Kuane will start and sub at center midfield and Evan Batsford is slotted to play on the outside. 

The Bruins’ offense will run mostly through junior Paul Guiracocha, a varsity newcomer with a background in academy soccer. He’ll line up at the center midfield position. 

“This kid has a great touch on the ball,” Palumbo said of Guiracocha. “So, when he’s distributing the ball he’s putting it right at his teammates’ feet.”

Another varsity newbie is junior Kourtne Herbert, an outside midfielder whose quick feet are attracting attention. 

“Kourtne is going to create a lot of mismatches because there are very few kids who are going to be able to stick with his extreme speed,” Palumbo said. 

In their new conference, the Bruins have a schedule heavy on Westbury, Plainview JFK and East Meadow, all rivals Palumbo calls “very competitive.” And Baldwin is not a team known for blowing out opponents. 

To keep their games close and competitive, Palumbo is giving junior Malcolm Bell his long-awaited shot as the team’s goalkeeper. For the past two seasons, Bell stood in the shadows of two talented goalies who had monopolized starts in the net.   

“Malcolm has been waiting and waiting and his time is now,” the coach said. “He works very hard and he’s very vocal and takes the leader role in practice.” 

Palumbo believes his players can upset many teams and do damage in the playoffs. He emphasized that the key will be that as a team they demonstrate the passion and commitment necessary for a successful postseason run.