Panza, Defense Lead Southampton Boys Soccer To Victory Over Reigning County Champion Babylon

Andy Panza was diving, lunging and jumping all over the field Saturday. The Southampton junior goalkeeper’s swift reflexes were on full display as he caught, punched and kicked the ball away 13 times in his Mariners boys soccer team’s 3-0 shutout of rival Babylon on September 25.

Head coach Dave Riley said the responses are a direct result of the way his keeper trains.

“Andy Panza is just an incredible goalie and team leader. He makes the rest of us really proud,” Riley said. “He deserves to have this kind of showing, especially because of how hard he works.”

Panza, though making many of the stops on his own, was quick to pass on the recognition.

“It felt amazing [to secure the shutout win], but I don’t want to take away any credit from the team as a whole,” the junior said. “We moved as a unit and defended very well. We worked hard. We really dug in.”

In fact, everyone on the team did bring something to the table Saturday. Three goals were scored, all of which were assisted, as the Mariners became just the second team to score on Babylon all season — the first to put up more than one goal. The Panthers lost to Mattituck, 1-0, on September 9, and were on a three-game win streak heading into the September 25 contest. Southampton (8-0), which is undefeated, edged Mattituck 3-1 on the road September 11 and had one objective heading into the matchup.

“We were looking at that before the game,” Panza said of Babylon’s one-goal-against achievement. “We said: ‘We want to change that.’”

Freshman striker Nicholas Gonzalez was first to get on the board for the Mariners. He headed the ball in for the eventual game-winner off a corner kick by sophomore midfielder Chris Sullivan. The goal, at 27:50, came just minutes after his first shot went off the right post.

“That really got us going. It shifted the momentum,” Gonzalez said. “We all did what we had to.”

Senior center midfielder Patrick Matthews said that total team play really shined.

“We really worked as a unit, had great possession of the ball and that strung everything together,” he said. “Going against a team like Babylon, we knew we had to come out hard and keep up the intensity. We’ve put in a lot of hard work and effort for this win, and it felt great, but we also have to set the bar higher now.”

That string of connections was on full display during the second goal of the game. Senior midfielder Johan Ramos was racing up the middle, while freshman forward Christian Duggal carried the ball into Babylon’s zone down the right sideline. Seeing an open Ramos, all he had to do was tap the ball to his left for the advantage with just under 26 minutes left to play in the first half. While the scoring for the first half concluded, the Panthers managed to get two more shots off, with Panza making the second stop right before time expired.

The Mariners came out pressuring the Panthers again in the second half, with senior defender Adrian Gonzalez’s opening shot going just across the front of the box. But Babylon responded, with Panza making six straight saves before sophomore midfielder Dan Bustamante found space for the final goal of the game. It came off an assist from Matthews with 21:39 left to play. Matthews even had a shot on goal to end the game, but his powerful kick was tapped to the left by Babylon goalkeeper Troy Schipf, who made six saves in the loss to bring his total to 21 so far this season.

With a few key starters out, mainly on offense, a shutdown of a top team like the Panthers shows Southampton’s potential. The Mariners, along with Shoreham-Wading River (6-0 overall, 6-0 in League VI), clinched a postseason berth Saturday.

“This is what we’ve been training for. I’m very proud of them,” Riley said. “They were relaxed and play our style of play. We’re excited to keep getting better with every game. It’s a confidence-builder for sure.”

Senior center back Turner West said the confidence only grows having a teammate like Panza in net. The junior has amassed 26 saves so far this season, and there’s been one motivating factor behind his work ethic.

“We definitely thought we were going to make it this far, but it’s also a year we felt we were underestimated by a lot of people,” Panza said. “Babylon gave us a really good game, so this is definitely an achievement for us.”

The Southampton team also knows, though, that there’s a target on its back, so the Mariners are not taking any opponent lightly. Southampton hosts Greenport next on September 30 at 7 p.m., before traveling to face Pierson/Bridgehampton October 2 at 2 p.m. The Mariners will play a homecoming game against Southold on October 12 at 6 p.m., and close out the regular season facing Babylon for the second time on October 18 at 4:30 p.m. While not trying to look too far ahead, the junior goalkeeper can’t help but be excited for the future.

“This team is bound for great things,” Panza said, smiling, “especially a deep run in the playoffs.”