VSN wins on new turf field

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Practically and symbolically, Valley Stream North’s new FieldTurf pitch might be just the thing to put a spring in the step of a Spartans boys’ soccer team looking to end its five-year playoff drought, mused 12th-year coach Dave Aguado.

Coming off a 4-7-1 league showing in 2017-18, the Spartans hit a rough patch last season, dipping to 0-5-5 in Conference A-5, 0-7-5 overall. His team now assigned to Conference A-3, Aguado – whose club notched the program’s first victory in more than 22 months with a season-opening non-league win at home against West Hempstead, 2-1, on Sept. 5 – said VSN (1-1) is primed for a new chapter as it seeks to break in its new playing field by breaking out offensively.

“There’s a new level of excitement in the program,” Aguado said. “The kids are eager to play on the new turf and score some goals and get some wins. Having zero wins last year wasn’t really indicative of how good we actually were. We played everybody tough, just had trouble scoring.”

To strike sparks on offense, VSN has tweaked its midfield attack, Aguado said. Second-year starter Alejandro Salazar – an All-Conference stopper last season – has been redeployed as an outside midfielder, joining center midfielder and fellow senior Tyler Talbert, who returns to the Spartans from a one-year hiatus. “Alejandro does it all,” Aguado said. “He proved last year he’s an excellent defender; now we need him to help us score. Tyler’s also great all-around. He creates shots for his teammates.”

First-year starting strikers Robson Forestal (senior) and Tyler McGoey (junior) give the Spartans a speedy new look out front. “Robson’s fast and he’s a great finisher,” Aguado said. “He’s got great footwork with the ball. Tyler’s also very quick. We’re looking for a big contribution from him this year.”

Building on last season’s solid effort (2.4 goals per game allowed, with two shutouts), VSN’s veteran defensive core is charged with helping to ease the burden on a pair of young Spartans goalies making starting varsity debuts. “Defense was our strongest asset last season,” Aguado said. “And we’re even stronger now.”

Second-year starting defensive midfielders Kevin Alvarado and Ricardo Arenas – both juniors – return alongside senior defenders Brian Munoz (third-year) and Devonte Gordon (second year). “Kevin can play anywhere on the field,” Aguado said. “He can play offense but we’re starting him out on defense. Ricardo’s an excellent man-marker and can win the ball out of the air. Both of those guys are fast.”

Sophomores Dilan Bermudez and Kevin Villada are splitting minutes between the pipes as VSN’s rookie goaltending duo. “Both Dilan and Kevin have tons of potential,” Aguado said. “They’re both good technical players. They’re young but they’ve shown that they’re ready to play on varsity.”

Summarized Aguado: “The conference is still tough but I think we’ll be a better team this year. We have a lot of guys returning, more experience. We just have to put more balls in the back of the net and we should be fine.”