Valley Stream Central punches playoff ticket

With a league-high five ties on its books – alongside as many wins – the Valley Stream Central boys’ soccer team owns the season’s longest unbeaten streak in Nassau Conference AA1, a nine-game skein in September that included the five draws.

While perhaps unglamorous, ties have been a friend to VSC – keeping the Eagles afloat in their hopes to return to the playoffs. But, watching from the injured list as his club refused to lose – until a streak-ending setback Sept. 28 at Great Neck South – VSC’s Chris Duarte apparently lost all fondness for stalemates.

Duarte returned ahead of a four-game gauntlet to wrap the regular season, VSC needing another win to ensure at least a .500 finish – a would-be postseason passport after two seasons in absentia. The senior midfielder wasted no time, scoring late at rival Mepham Oct.5 as VSC made its turnaround official with a 2-1 playoff-clinching win against the Pirates.

A tie, said Eagles coach Billy Miller, was not on the table that day.

“We treated Mepham like the playoffs,” Miller said. “We needed a win, to clinch playoffs in case we got in the weeds later. Mepham’s a difficult team to play, but our three opponents afterward were the top three teams in the conference.”

Added Miller: “Chris really motivated the team with that goal. It lifted everyone’s spirits. The last couple seasons haven’t been great for us, so it was a really big moment for the team to clinch before that tough end of the season.”

Despite seeing limited action, Duarte leads the Eagles with seven points (three goals, four assists), while midfielder Matt Obregon leads the squad with five goals. Forward Kyle Campbell, whose pair of second-half tallies lifted VSC to a 2-1 win against Great Neck South in the teams’ first meeting Sept. 9., has four goals, with midfielder Jose Pinto tying for team second-lead with five points (three goals, two assists).

Honorable Mention All-County center back Chris Melgar heads an Eagles defense that ranks second in AA1, permitting a paltry 1.4 goals per game. Before an outlying 5-1 defeat at home on Oct. 9 against first-place Jericho, VSC had allowed 1.1 goals per contest.

“We owe a lot to our back line,” said Miller, crediting starting defenders Frank Evans, Justin Wilson and Freddie Moldonado, along with Melgar midfielder Adrian Ayala, for VSC’s success in the backfield – another key being the surprise stoutness of VSC’s goalkeeping corps, Miller said.

Former Eagles midfielder Isaiah Smith seems to have found his natural spot in the box, posting 35 saves to rank sixth in the conference, while Damian Rosado – whose team season-high 10 saves at MacArthur helped VSC keep its streak alive in a 1-1 tie Sept. 11 – has been reliable in spot starts and relief.

"We’ve got talented guys, but I think a lot of our success so far has to do to with the boys’ character” said Miller, whose team fights for playoff seeding this week at East Meadow and at Long Beach in a finale. “They had a quiet confidence going into the season, a kind of unspoken belief that paid off. They look forward now to showing that in the playoffs.”