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Light Rain Falcons rise to top conference
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Valley Stream South's Yazeid Hamarsha, left, and Central's Mohammed Tahir vie for the ball during the Falcons' 2-1 non-league win.
Kathy Leistner/Herald
A year after capturing the Conference ABC-II championship and reaching the Nassau Class A boys’ soccer semifinals, Valley Stream South is running with the big dogs in Conference ABC-I.
“It’ll be a challenge,” Falcons coach Rich Boyd said after a 2-1 non-league win over Valley Stream Central last Saturday. “We’re in Conference I for the first time since 2002.
I’m not sure how big a difference it’ll be from Conference II, but we’re about to find out. Hopefully we can live up to the ranking and be competitive.”
South graduated a pair of standouts in Tyler De La Torre, the county’s leading goal scorer with 19, and two-time All-State selection John Velasquez. Five starters returned, including senior starting goalkeeper Justin Corke and senior midfielders Anthony Carreras and Angel Aguirre. Corke led the county in shutouts and is a three-year starter.
The defense in front of Corke is led by junior sweeper Alex Sappupo, who is new to the program, and sophomore backs Stanley Egbuchulam and John Hernandez. Those being counted on for offense include juniors Ryan Flynn and Brandon Negron and sophomore Shaquille Richards.
Spartans on the move again
Valley Stream North continues it’s rise up the county ladder and will compete in Conference ABC-III this year after winning Conference ABC-IV in 2008 with a record of 8-1-1. “We’ve been improving each year and we’re looking to get back to the playoffs and take at least one more step,” Spartans coach Dave Aguado said. “We can’t take any days off. In this conference, anyone can beat anyone.”
Leading the charge for North is midfielders Xavier O’Connor and John Sabal. O’Connor, a senior, picked up All-County and Conference Player of the Year honors last season and has led the team in scoring two years in a row. Meanwhile, Sabal, a junior, is a four-year starter coming off an All-Conference campaign.
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