VSN unbeaten in last six

After a somewhat shaky start to the 2013 soccer season, the Valley Stream North Spartans have been a tough side to beat in Nassau Conference A-2. After last Friday’s 1-1 tie with visiting Lynbrook, North stands at 6-3-3 overall (5-2-2 in conference games.) 

Senior Danny Cossu, off an assist from sophomore Carlos Cardona, scored North’s only goal of the match. Lynbrook got a goal from junior Dylan O’Brien with 10 minutes to play to even the score.

The Spartans, who have gone six matches without a loss, have clinched a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season, and will look to improve their playoff seed when they take on a strong Roslyn team in their next-to-last game of the season.

Head coach Dave Aguado believes his team has let a few opportunities slip away. “We haven’t put teams away when we’ve had the chance to do so,” Aguado said. “We’re getting opportunities, but we’re not finishing. We let teams hang around and they’ve taken advantage of what we’ve given them. If we finish, we can play with anyone.”

While the North offense hasn’t put up a slew of goals, the defense has been very strong. The backline, which is composed of seniors Quentin Sathasium, Edwin Hernandez, and Andres Salcedo, and junior Christian Cruz, has been excellent. The unit has given up one or fewer goals in eight of its past nine matches.

The play in goal has been solid as well. Seniors Alec D’Aulisa and Alex Piccirillo have shown the ability to keep the ball out of the net. D’Aulisa earned shutouts in wins over Floral Park and Manhasset. 

Senior Roody Derineau, who was injured and missed the game against Lynbrook, has been a bright spot on offense for North. Derineau leads the team with 11 goals. He found the back of the net four times in a 4-1 road win over Glen Cove. Sathasium, who played for the varsity squad as a freshman, has five goals and three assists for the year. 

Aguado praised the play of Cossu. While his tally against Lynbrook was his first goal of the season, Cossu is one of those players who does the little things that don’t necessarily show up in the box score. The Spartans have also received a boost from Cardona, who made his varsity debut against Lynbrook.

Aquado believes his team can be tough in the playoffs after making some noise a year ago. “It would be nice to go up to Roslyn and get a win and improve our seed, but it won’t be easy,” he said. “We just need to be more consistent on offense, and score a few more goals. We’re not giving up much, but we have to take advantage of scoring opportunities.”

The Spartans close out the regular season when they welcome in rival Valley Stream South this Friday at 4:30 p.m.