Jets looking for strong finish

East Meadow regained some footing on the boys’ soccer field by snapping a two-game losing streak with a 0-0 tie against Port Washington last Monday, as senior goalkeeper Hector Guerrero stopped five shots in the team’s sixth shutout of the season.

As the Jets (7-4-1 overall, 6-3-1 in Conference II) battle for positioning in the upcoming Nassau Class A playoff tournament, much was still undecided as they headed into the final two games of the regular season, on the road at Hicksville on Friday and MacArthur on Monday. After the Port Washington tie, East Meadow was deadlocked with Baldwin in second place and the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. The Bruins beat the Jets 1-0 on Oct. 12. “We feel very good,” coach Kevin Regan said. “Obviously we think we’re a talented team. We learned a lot from being together last season and that’s continued this year.”

One of the main driving forces for East Meadow’s success has been a defense anchored by Guerrero and backliners Dom Fragiorgi, a senior, and Alex Melnyczuk, a junior. During one stretch this season, East Meadow won seven of eight games, allowing a total of just six goals and recording five shutouts. “The way we’ve played in the back has been a real big key and Hector’s been big,” Regan said. “Even the offense builds off the defense. It’s more than just stopping teams from scoring.”

Anthony Posillico has paced the offensive attack with a team-high seven goals, but several players have become reliable weapons to support the senior. Junior William Rosales and senior Oscar Lopez have become solid complements to Posillico in the scoring column, and Lopez had a goal in the Jets most recent defeat, a 3-2 decision to Herricks on Oct. 14. It’s these types of efforts that are starting to cause trouble for opposing defenses. “Teams are focusing on Posillico and we’re getting contributions from other guys,” Regan said. “They’ve started to take the pressure off of Anthony and we need to continue to do that moving forward. Anthony’s talented, but you can’t win with one guy scoring goals.”

Freshman Danny Espinoza had East Meadow’s other goal against the Highlanders and has become a nemesis to them in his first varsity season. He had previously scored the game-winner with less than two minutes to play to propel the Jets to a 1-0 victory when the teams first met on Sept. 24. “He’s been a big plus for us as a freshman,” Regan said. “He’s a very smart player.”

Hicksville, the only unbeaten team left in the conference, knocked off the Jets, 4-1, in the first meeting on Oct. 2, but East Meadow looks to close out the regular season with a sweep of the MacArthur series. Guerrero notched the shutout in a 2-0 win on Oct. 5.