Calhoun fends off rival Mepham

The soccer season kicked off Monday afternoon for Bellmore-Merrick, as Mepham hosted cross-town rival Calhoun.

It was the first game of the season for both squads, and both offenses spent the first half shaking off the rust and trying to find their rhythm.

It wasn’t until the 72nd minute that Calhoun senior Brian Grambo broke a scoreless tie by sending a loose ball into the back of the net following a deep throw-in from the sideline by fellow senior Andrew Lief. The goal gave the Colts, who reached the Nassau Class AA title game last season, a 1-0 victory.

“We controlled the ball well,” said Calhoun coach Jim Cantley. “We had trouble getting it up to the front in the beginning, and we had a lot more chances in the second half. I just kept telling the guys to keep working hard. The chemistry on this team is really good, and these guys play hard for each other.”

Calhoun goalkeeper Andrew LaClaustra was superb, stopping all seven shots he faced.

“We put in a lot of hard work,” LaClaustra said. “It took until the second half before we could score our first goal. We had a lot of opportunities that we should have finished, but a win’s a win.”

On the other side, Pirates goalie Steve Fotinos made eight saves while allowing just the lone goal with eight minutes remaining.

The first half was back-and-forth as both teams battled the fierce wind that played a significant factor throughout the entirety of the game.

Both teams had scoring opportunities early. Mepham junior Fermin Sorto streaked down the field midway through the first half and fired a shot that was shoved aside by LaClaustra, and later in the half, Calhoun senior Nicholas Cavallino sent a headed ball just inches over the crossbar.

After a scoreless first half, it was Calhoun that came out rejuvenated and dominated possession of the ball in the second half. Mepham was under constant pressure, but the Pirates defense was up to the task, as junior Jake Klerer, senior Anthony Duranona, and junior Mike Eisenberg constantly fended off numerous potential Calhoun scoring threats.

Finally, with just eight minutes remaining, Lief tossed a long throw-in from the sideline that bounced freely in front of the Mepham goal, and Grambo was able to get a leg on it and send it past Fotinos for the lone goal of the game.

“I’m very happy we put that one in,” Cantley said. “They deserved it.”

Despite coming up on the short end, Mepham coach James Koester was not discouraged with his team’s performance. “I thought we played really well,” he said. “I told the boys that, most importantly, they played together and they played with a lot of effort. We just gave Calhoun a few too many chances. But I was pretty happy with the effort.”