52.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Lynbrook seeks playoff berth
A season-long struggle to find the back of the net has left Lynbrook needing a victory in one of its last two games to secure a berth in the Nassau Class A boys’ soccer playoffs.
After last Friday’s 1-1 tie at Valley Stream North, the Owls are 5-5-3 overall (3-3-3 in Conference A-2). Junior Dylan O’Brien’s header, off a feed from junior Erik Vivar, with just 10 minutes to play, tied the score.
North got on the board earlier in the match when senior Danny Cossu scored his first goal of the season. It was the sixth consecutive game where Lynbrook has scored one or fewer goals. The Spartans are 6-3-3.
Lynbrook coach Josh Berlin knows what his team needs to do to qualify for the playoffs. “It’s real simple; we need to win a game,” Berlin said. “We put ourselves in the position where every game is like a playoff game. For us, the playoffs started last Friday against North. We would have loved a win, but we’ll take the tie. Now, if we win one of the last two games, we’re in. The kids know what is at stake.”
While the offense has struggled, the Owls have done a nice job of keeping the ball out of their own net. Patrick Doody has been stellar in goal. The senior keeper has yielded just eight goals in league matches, and has recorded five shutouts.
“Patrick has been outstanding,” Berlin said. “When you’re not scoring goals, one mistake can mean the game. It seems like when we have one lapse the opponent capitalizes. Patrick has kept us in every game.”
The guys in front of Doody have done a terrific job as well, Berlin said. Senior sweeper Zak Fellows, senior stopper Timur Ceylan, along with Vivar and sophomore Matthew McVeigh on the outside, have done a terrific job at marking and keeping opponent’s opportunities at a minimum.
Freshman Anthony Molina leads the team with four goals, including the game-winner in a 1-0 win over Valley Stream South. Another freshman, Robert Sitonio, has done a solid job shoring up the Owls at an outside midfield slot.
