Owls ousted from playoffs in OT

The Lynbrook boys’ soccer season came to a halt in crushing fashion last Saturday afternoon as the fifth-seeded Owls fell to No. 12 Bethpage, 1-0, in the opening round of the Nassau Class A playoffs in a game played at Lynbrook North Middle School.

Senior Tom Asselta scored off a throw-in from Jesse House with 8:00 left in the second overtime period to give the Golden Eagles the win. Junior Evan Foley had four saves for Lynbrook.

Lynbrook coach Josh Berlin felt for his team. “This is the hardest-working team we’ve had in years,” Berlin said. “The boys came together as a unit early on, and played as one all season long. This was a tough loss. We had some opportunities, but just couldn’t capitalize. I would have liked to see this group go further in the playoffs. They were a great bunch to coach.”

Lynbrook, which finished with an overall record of 9-4-3 (8-1-3 in conference play), faced a Bethpage team it had defeated twice during the regular season. The Golden Eagles’ game plan was clearly to shut down Lynbrook’s top scorer Angelo Messina, who led Conference VI with 11 goals. Messina found the back of the net twice against Bethpage during the regular season.

The Owls quickly discovered that beating a team for a third time would not be easy. “I knew coming in that this would be a very tough match for us,” Berlin said. “They’re a solid, well-coached team. When you’re the lower seed, you come in feeling that you have nothing to lose. You play a little looser, and tend not to press as much.”

If you let an opponent hang around long enough, and fail to deliver the proverbial knockout punch, disaster can strike at any moment. The Owls learned that lesson the hard way after letting a stubborn Bethpage team stick around all afternoon. After failing on a few opportunities to win in regulation and in overtime, Lynbrook’s season came to an end when Asselta buried one inside the left post.

Goalie Bryan Gottlieb stopped all five shots he saw for the Golden Eagles, securing his second shutout of the season. Bethpage, which improved to 6-4-3, advanced to the quarterfinals to face Wantagh. 

Berlin, Messina, Damian and Gonzalo Andreani, Andrew Marks, Michael Milillo, James Kirby, and Rich Bellusci will all receive post-season honors to be announced at a later date.

Despite losing seven seniors, the future looks bright for the Owls. With many talented freshmen, sophomores, and juniors returning next season, plus assistance from members of a JV team that went 5-5-2, Lynbrook should be in the mix in 2011.

Berlin will miss the seniors. “This team did everything that was asked, never questioned things, and the kids never fought among themselves,” he said. “We were a little unsure as to what we had at the beginning if the season. We really had a great year.”