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Photos by Drew Budd
After many missed opportunities in the first half, Westhampton Beach senior forward Carmine Minerbo finally put an unassisted goal in at 39:17 in the second half to grab a 1-0 win over Bayport/Blue Point in the boys soccer Class A outbracket game, played at Westhampton Beach High School under the lights on Monday.
Eighth-seeded Westhampton Beach advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class A playoffs where it will play at number one Comsewogue on Thursday at 2 p.m.
Defending state champion Comsewogue is the League V champion this season after going 14-0 in league play and 14-1-1 overall. Westhampton Beach head coach Don O’Brien, however, thinks that whatever happened during the regular season doesn’t matter.
“When the tournament starts you can throw all of the seeds out the window,” he said. “It doesn’t matter that they’re one. I expect a competitive game and if we do what we did today we’ll be right there at the end.”
The Hurricanes controlled the ball for most of the game and it showed in the shot total as they outshot Bayport/Blue Point 17-5. Westhampton Beach had many opportunities to score in the first half but Bayport/Blue Point goal keeper Mike Falkenburgh, who made 11 saves throughout the game, made many great stops to keep his team in the contest. The Phantoms finished with a 7-4-1 record in League VII.
Early in the first half, senior Hurricane Brian Higgins headed a throw-in from junior Jason Iannone over the goal. Within the last six minutes of the first half, Westhampton Beach had three very good chances to score. Junior Hurricane Avery Raimondo had a nice shot that was saved by Falkenburgh and then he headed another throw-in from Iannone over the net. Senior Phil Caradona then booted a ball wide left of the goal with just 10 seconds remaining in the half.
Westhampton Beach regained control of the ball after Bayport/Blue Point started the second half with possession. As the ball found itself in front of the net, Minerbo was able to lose his defender and put the ball in a practically empty net from just about 10 yards out. Raimondo, who had five shots on goal, explained how his team was able to score.
“[Bayport/Blue Point] was very good centrally so we knew we had to play to our game plan and go down the wings, get crosses in and that’s how Carmine got his goal,” he said.
The Phantoms did not have many opportunities due to great defense from Higgins and fellow Westhampton Beach seniors Greg Kandell and Pete Detore and junior Kyle Higgins. Senior goal keeper Mike Hammond made four saves in goal for Westhampton Beach.
O’Brien thought that his players “played their hearts out” but did think they missed some golden opportunities.
“We got plenty of balls in and down to the corner, but we didn’t finish our crosses and we didn’t even get enough chances off of our throw-ins,” he said. “The Bayport goalie had a great game. [He] kept [his team] in the game in the first half because I thought it could have been 2-0 at the half. We changed it up a little bit in the second half, we had some better chances and, same thing, we could have had two goals in the second half, but overall I’m very happy with the effort. Whether it was 1-0 or 5-0 we’re still advancing to the next round.”
Minerbo said “it feels good” to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
“I’ve always wanted this ever since I was a little kid and it was a good win today,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll go farther in the playoffs.”
On an injury note, Westhampton Beach senior forward Utsav Patel was not dressed for the game and will be out for about another week due to a hip pointer. Should Westhampton Beach defeat Comsewogue on Thursday, O’Brien said Patel should be back for the semifinals which take place Monday at 2 p.m. at the higher seed’s home field.
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