South Side outlasts VSS

After rallying from a one-goal deficit twice in its Nassau Class A boys’ soccer first-round playoff overtime victory over Hewlett, fifth-seeded Valley Stream South did the same in the quarterfinals against No. 4 South Side but couldn’t get over the top.

The defending county champion Cyclones eliminated the Falcons, 3-2, on junior Thomas Doyle’s first career high school varsity goal with 10:05 remaining in regulation time on Oct. 27 at Skelos Sports Complex. Doyle blasted home a corner kick by senior Connor Byrne to punch undefeated South Side’s ticket to the semifinals and a meeting with rival Jericho.

“It was a perfect pass and I got to it before it hit the ground,” Doyle said. “It was crazy to see it go in. I didn’t know how to react. I’m just excited we held on for the win. It was an intense back-and-forth game.”

Junior Ryan Prendergast had South Side’s first two goals, both on headers, giving him five tallies in two playoff games. The Falcons (10-2-2) needed only two minutes to answer the first goal, and a little more than three minutes to answer the second, but couldn’t get a third equalizer past Cyclones senior goalkeeper Josh Levine.

“Our guys played with a tremendous amount of heart tonight,” VSS coach Rich Boyd said. “They left it all on the field. This team just never gave up. We were down a goal to Hewlett twice last week and came back to win in overtime.

“Soccer can be a cruel game,” he added. “We were right there. We were a bounce or two away.”

Prendergast, who netted a hat trick in a 4-0 victory over Roslyn in the first round on Oct. 23, opened the scoring in the quarterfinals with 12:07 remaining in the first half off a long direct kick by senior Pat Basile. As the ball sailed inside the box, Prendergast, in full stride, headed it over a charging VSS senior goalkeeper Matt Labeck to put the hosts in front.

Two minutes later, a dazzling individual effort by Falcons leading scorer Alex Castano made it 1-1. Castano, who had two points in the game to give him 18 on the season, dribbled through a pair of defenders at the top of the box and drilled a low shot into the cage for his seventh goal of 2015. “He had a tremendous night,” Boyd said of Castano, who scored twice in the playoff win over Hewlett.

The Cyclones went ahead 2-1 with 17:08 left in the second half when Prendergast headed in the rebound of a bobbled save. However, the lead was short lived as sophomore Brian Garay converted Castano’s corner kick to deadlock the match with 14:17 remaining.

“They’re an athletic and dangerous team,” South Side coach Fred Paul said. “I didn’t like the way we played defensively, but we did a nice job executing on our set pieces.

“It’s hard to keep going when a team comes back on you twice,” he added. “Our guys were able to match their heart and desire.”