Seaford aiming for playoffs

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Seaford boys’ soccer began their season on the right foot last week, winning their first conference game Sept. 13 as the Vikings seek to return to the postseason.

It was a positive start for a team that fell just short of a Nassau Class A playoff berth a year ago. And after losing a couple of key seniors to graduation, coach Ralph Pascarella said he’s still getting a feel for his roster.

“The makeup of the team is interesting,” he said. “We’ve got a good stock of players still trying to figure out who’s going to compete. There’s a lot of opportunities for a lot of young guys, and we’ll just take it day by day.”

As Pascarella continues to assess his talent, he began the season by naming four captains – two seniors, Shane McClernon and Brian Rodriguez, and two juniors, Rob Bertoncini and Matt Korounos.

McClernon is a composed player who provides stability in the midfield position, his coach said. Bertoncini, said Pascarella, is a hard-working center back with a keen soccer intellect. Karounos is a competitive athlete who still has yet to reach his full potential.

In Seaford’s first conference game, a 2-1 victory at home over Clarke, it was Bertoncini who scored the game’s first goal on a penalty kick. After Clarke tied it, junior Joe Chiarelli put the Vikings up for good. Junior keeper Joe Armano pitched in six saves in the winning effort.

“We bunkered down and got the win,” Pascarella said. “It was a good game, an even match.”

Fourteen players are in the rotation for the Vikings as Pascarella continues to mix and match to find the right formula. Early on, he said senior forward Matt Amarante has emerged as a pleasant surprise, and freshman Matt Garcia and sophomore Anthony Ippoliti – both starting midfielders – are younger players to keep an eye on.

“We’re all just trying to figure out who belongs,” said Pascarella, noting that many of his athletes are new to the varsity level. “They’re good kids. They work hard. They listen. They focus on what we’re doing. We’ll be in the mix each and every game.”

The Vikings’ next conference game was scheduled for Monday, Sept. 17, at West Hempstead, after press time. They’ll return home for a Friday matchup against Valley Stream South.

The goal is to make it back to the postseason, said Pascarella, and while there may not be much glitz and glamour involved, he characterized his squad as a blue-collar bunch that gets the job done.

“We’re just a good, organized team,” he said. “We defend well. We try to do the simple things. We just compete.”

Seaford (4-5-3 in 2017) is part of Conference A6 and faces each of its new rivals twice apiece.