In search of its second Nassau Class A boys’ soccer championship in four years, Mepham took the first step many lower seeds couldn’t in the first round last Friday afternoon by scoring twice midway through the first half and holding off a late push by Lynbrook for a 2-0 victory.
The Pirates, who shared the Conference A1 title with MacArthur, earned the No. 7 seed but was only three of eight home teams to advance to the quarterfinals. Top-seeded South Side, No. 2 Mineola, No. 4 MacArthur, No. 5 North Shore and No. 8 Lawrence were all eliminated.
“All of us want to be in these kinds of games and all of us want to win,” said junior midfielder Konstantinos Karousis, who gave Mepham (9-0-4 overall) its two-goal cushion in the 22nd minute. “Our confidence level is very high,” he added. “We came out aggressive and pressing. Once we put in the goals and got the lead, we did our job to hold it.”
The Pirates were to host No. 15 Roosevelt in the quarterfinals after Herald presstime, with a spot in this Friday’s semifinals at Mitchel Athletic Complex going to the winner. The county final is Nov. 3 also at Mitchel.
“It was difficult to advocate for individual awards because our talent is so deep and spread out,” Mepham coach Zachary Gosse said. “Our offense has come from all over the place, which is great, and we’ve only allowed seven goals all season.”