Oceanside gets stingy after loss

Sailors post three straight shutouts

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Since it allowed three goals in the final 12 minutes of a stunning 4-3 loss at Valley Stream Central on Sept. 15, cracking Oceanside’s defense has been an impossible task for the competition in Nassau Class AA boys’ soccer.

The Sailors posted their third consecutive shutout victory Sept. 28, beating Calhoun at home under the lights, 2-0, behind goals from seniors Mike Briguglio and Shane Monaghan, and six saves from senior keeper Anthony Puleo.

“We’ve had two great weeks of practice and three very good games since the loss,” coach Joe Pumo said after Oceanside improved to 5-1-1 in conference games. “For whatever reason, we completely lost momentum against Valley Stream and couldn’t get it back. It was a gut-wrenching loss, but I think it helped us move forward as a team.”

Briguglio’s team-leading fourth goal of the season came 16 minutes into the win over Calhoun, on a header off a crossing pass from senior Val Napoli. “Almost all of Mike’s goals have been similar,” Pumo said. “He has a knack for getting himself into the right place at the right time.”

About nine minutes later, Monaghan provided the insurance with an assist from senior Thomas Goetz, who leads the Sailors with five helpers despite being a defender. “Shane did an unbelievable job getting to the ball and finished while he was sliding on the turf,” Pumo said.

Puleo, who has 14 saves during the shutout streak, was tested a few times by Calhoun but answered the bell. Seniors Joseph DiMiceli and Bryan Provvido led the defensive effort. “Joe and Bryan did a nice job all game winning the balls in the air,” Pumo explained. “We knew Calhoun had a couple of dangerous scorers and they’d try to beat us with their speed.

“We’ve been working a lot on 1-on-1 and team defense, and our communication in the back, which was already good, has improved even more,” he added.

Oceanside’s win streak began four days after the collapse against Central. Goetz assisted on goals by Briguglio and senior Jason Rosa, and DiMiceli scored off a feed from Monaghan in a 3-0 win over Long Beach. Puleo made five saves.

A long bus trip to Herricks on Sept. 23 wasn’t so bad coming back after senior Aidan Barry and Rosa found the net to lead a 2-0 victory. Puleo recorded four saves.

“We spoke about responding to the loss and what a big week this was going to be,” said Pumo, whose team was gearing up for a rematch against defending state champion Hicksville after beating the Comets in the first meeting.

Offensively, it’s been a balanced effort for the Sailors. They have seven players with multiple goals on the season: Briguglio (four), Monaghan (three), Napoli (three), Rosa (two), Barry (two), DiMiceli (two) and junior A.J. Raiz (two.) “Not relying on one or two guys to do the scoring is part of what makes this team special,” Pumo said. “We also have tremendous leadership.”