Mepham clings to playoff hopes

Zachary Gosse isn’t exactly sure what happened.

Over his many years as the coach of the Mepham boys’ soccer team, he was used to the Pirates making regular appearances in the postseason.

But after falling 2-1 to Valley Stream Central on Oct. 5, Mepham is in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the second straight year with only three games left on its schedule.

“It was heartbreaking for us,” said Gosse. “I felt like we were the better side in the second half and deserved to win that game. Obviously, losing and falling two games under 500, the boys have a lot of work to do in the final three games.”

Mepham, which defeated Great Neck South 4-0 on Oct. 9, must win two of its next three matchups or get one win and two draws to make the postseason. The Pirates (4-5-3 in Conference AA-1) close with MacArthur, Baldwin and Valley Stream Central.

Jonathan Murcia scored twice and Christian Kolb and Dylan Tuccitto also found the back of the net in the must-win game against Great Neck South. Keeper Anton Maken stopped all six shots he faced for the shutout.

Still, two years ago, Gosse’s team was among the best in Nassau County. Now, it seems it may have lost its edge.

“There’s a little bit of complacency,” Gosse said. “If you look at a team from the outside and see that they consistently make the playoffs every year, it's almost like an expectation as opposed to something that needs to be earned.”

Yes, there are some on the roster that are pulling their weight.

Giorgios Karousis leads the team with five goals and shares the lead in points with Kolb and Jake Hislop.

While Gosse thinks that’s all well and good, he’s looking for more players to do the little things that don’t always appear in the box score.

“We need that killer instinct,” said Gosse. “Are you going to do whatever it takes to win the game? I think we lack that a little bit this year.”

As much as Gosse would like, he understands that developing that mindset can’t be done overnight.

With the end of the season rapidly approaching, the Pirates are going back to the beginning. Rather than prioritizing rest, recovery, and scouting their next opponent, they’ll review their own structure on top of a heavy dose of conditioning.

“I would love to just have fun and enjoy being together and think about what the other team is going to bring to the table,” Gosse said. “We're not able to focus on other teams at this point. We need to focus on ourselves.”

Gosse hasn’t given up yet. He’s hoping a couple of hard practices will pay dividends down the final stretch.

If not, he isn’t exactly sure what he’ll do.

“I honestly don’t know,” said Gosse. “We have good talent for a high school soccer program, and the kids play the game the right way. Sometimes, it just doesn't always work out in your favor.”