Lawrence nipped in semifinals

Defeating the defending Long Island Class A boys’ soccer champions twice proved too tall a task for Lawrence.

The Golden Tornadoes were blanked for the only time in 2018 last Friday evening and saw their tremendous season end with a 1-0 loss to top-seeded Garden City in a Nassau semifinal at Farmingdale State College.

The Trojans, who knocked on the door much of the second half, finally broke through with 10:09 remaining in regulation when sophomore Andrew Schneider headed in a feed from senior Andrew Luglio. Their 13th consecutive win brought them one step closer to a repeat with only No. 3 Mepham standing in the way.

“I just told the guys how proud I am of them and what a memorable season it was,” Lawrence coach Pat Leary said after his side completed a 12-1-1 campaign. “It’s hard for the seniors, but they helped lay the groundwork for something special.

“They might not want to hear it now because they’re upset, but we have every reason to believe we can get back to this point and go further next year,” he added.

The Golden Tornadoes, the Conference A5 champs and No. 4 seed, advanced to the semis with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over Herricks in the first round and a 2-0 win over Mineola in the quarterfinals. They hadn’t suffered a shutout this fall.

“Lawrence is unbelievably talented and it took a total team effort by us,” Garden City coach Paul Cutter said. “We tried to keep an extra kid in the box because that offense is so dangerous. They have some of the best players in the county and they’re so well-coached.”

Both keepers made their best stops in the first half. Garden City junior Joe Griffin turned aside seven shots on the night, while Lawrence senior Joseph Dvir had nine saves. Dvir also got some help from sophomore Jesus Duran, who made a sliding save off a rebound in the early stages.

Senior TJ Schmitt, juniors Tommy Aneser and Ethan Senatore and sophomore Bobby Seel did the bulk of the defensive work for Garden City, which lost 3-2 to Lawrence back on Sept. 8. “It means a little, but teams evolve so much,” Cutter said. “We knew we had to deny them the ball or else they were going to score.”

All of Lawrence’s leading scorers will be back next season. Juniors Mauricio Puerto-Quintanilla and Danny Cifuentes-Reyes finished with 12 and 8 goals in the regular season, respectively, and scored in the playoff win over Mineola. They also combined for 10 assists. Sophomore Alan Martinez (10 goals, 7 assists) had the dramatic OT winner over Herricks, and freshman Angelo Puerto found the back of the net four times.

“With us, we’re a misstep away from them or a creative play by us from something great happening,” Leary said. “I’m surprised by my guys all the time, yet I’m not surprised. They can really counter-attack and score. That was the expectation again tonight right until the final whistle.”