New-look Lawrence still talented

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Taking into considering bussing issues and parity throughout the county, Nassau boys’ soccer has realigned its conferences in Class A with two groupings of 12 teams each and one with 11.
Lawrence, which captured a share of the Conference IV title last fall with a record of 11-1 behind the dynamic scoring duo of Angelo Puerto-Quintanilla and Gabe Viera, will compete in Conference A-Central along with neighboring Hewlett, Academy Charter, Calhoun, Clarke, Long Beach, Lynbrook, Malverne/East Rockaway, Roosevelt, South Side, Valley Stream North and Valley Stream South.
“It’s a one-year trial and next year is going to be different with the state adding AAA,” Lawrence coach Pat Leary said. “All of the Class A conferences seem balanced. Everyone plays everyone once and we’ll go from there.
“We basically have a whole new team but there’s still a heck of a lot of talent,” he added. “We’ve creating a winning culture here and I think we have the ability to keep competing at a high level. We just have a lot of figuring out to do compared to recent seasons.”
The Golden Tornadoes return only two starters along with a handful of varsity reserves who saw a good chunk of playing time. “We’re throwing a lot of young kids into the deep end,” Leary said. “They’re all experienced and confident soccer players, they just haven’t done it on a varsity field. There’s opportunity for them to step in and play right away. That hasn’t been the case here for quite a while.”

Returning to lead the way for Lawrence, which outscored opponents 63-13 in conference games, are senior midfielder and captain Richie Moran and junior outside back Emerson Mijango. Both could see time elsewhere as the season unfolds, Leary noted, but they’ll start where they finished last fall.
“Richie is a third-year starter who’s talented, tough and versatile,” Leary said. “He’s very fit and ready to go. He’ll be one of the better players in the conference. He’ll start at outside midfield but we’ll have a lot of moving parts so I can’t say for sure if that’s where he’ll be all year. I know wherever he plays, it’ll be a strength for us.”
Mijango is a lefty with a strong foot and difficult to beat one-on-one. He’s joined in the back by varsity newcomers David Romero, a junior, Benji Perez, a sophomore, and Marlon Hernandez, a freshman. Senior captain Brian Zaforski could be used at center-back if he’s not part of the forward group.
There are question marks in goal with sophomore Jefferson Monzon bringing limited experience.
Senior Christian Funes is another captain and will likely see time at midfield and forward. Junior Jonathan Valiente is an integral part of the midfield after getting major minutes last season. Sophomores Yaxon Arriega, Joseph Gonzalez and Brandon Moran add to what could be a deep midfield. Junior Luis Manrique bolsters the forward group.
“In the big picture, we’re trying to get better every day,” Leary said.
To qualify for the Class A playoffs, Lawrence will need at least a .500 conference record or finish in the top six.