Hard-fought loss for Owls

Down two starting midfielders due to injury and with multiple players out of position, host Lynbrook withstood constant pressure from Valley Stream South in last Monday’s Nassau Conference VI-A boys’ soccer game.

But all it took was one minor breakdown for the Owls to suffer their first conference loss of 2011. Senior Shaquille Richards won it for the Falcons, 1-0, when he took a pass from senior Jon Hernandez beat Lynbrook senior goalkeeper Evan Foley with a left-footed shot from 15 yards out 11:57 into the second half.

“We always have competitive games against them,” Lynbrook coach Josh Berlin said. “We have a lot of respect for their program. It’s the fifth time we’ve played in three years. We tied three times and now we’ve both won one. One mistake is all it took today.”

The Owls (0-1-2 in conference games) produced their best scoring opportunity with 14 minutes remaining when senior Michael Milillo, who scored with five minutes left to pull out a 1-1 tie with Floral Park Sept. 15, had a bicycle kick from point-blank range not quite reach Falcons senior goalkeeper Brandon Garrett, who had three saves.

“We did a lot of good things and fortunately we were able to finish once,” VSS coach Richard Boyd said after his team improved to 2-0 in the conference. “We’re still sorting out the pieces of the puzzle, but so far, so good.”

The Owls, who were minus junior James Cullen and Tyler DeMarinis from their starting lineup, got strong defensive performances from juniors Damian Andreani and Ian Reid, and seniors Eric Kolbrenner and Brian Koffler, and some key first-half saves from Foley.

“We need to pick up the offense a little bit, and I think it’ll come around,” Berlin said. “We’re dealing with a lot of injuries early, but the guys are working really hard. We’ve been just missing on passes and there are techniques we need to improve.”

Lynbrook, which is trying to return to the Class A playoffs after going 9-3-3 in 2010, is counting on Andreani and Milillo to lead the way against a challenging group of conference opponents. Four of the seven teams in Conference IV-A advance to the postseason.

“I believe we have what it takes to finish in the top four,” Berlin said. “We’re always shooting for the playoffs to get that one extra game and try to do something special.”

Next up for the Owls is a meeting with first-place West Hempstead (3-0) this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Lynbrook North Middle School.