8 Photos
Southampton junior forward Jhoseph Garay Montalvo fends off a Babylon player. RON ESPOSITO
Southampton senior goalie Andy Panza tosses a ball back in to play. RON ESPOSITO
Southampton junior defender Mason Stevens pans the field. RON ESPOSITO
Southampton sophomore forward Nick Gonzalez avoids contact with Babylon's goalie. RON ESPOSITO
Southampton sophomore forward Christian Duggal and a Babylon player race after a bouncing ball. RON ESPOSITO
Southampton sophomore forward Nick Gonzalez and a Babylon player jostle for the ball. RON ESPOSITO
Southampton sophomore Edgar Diaz gets tangled up with a Babylon player. RON ESPOSITO
Southampton junior forward Jhoseph Garay Montalvo. RON ESPOSITO
The Southampton boys soccer team fell to 2-3 on the season after suffering a pair of 1-0 losses in their past two games.
After losing at home on September 14 to Babylon, the second-ranked team in the state, according to the New York State Sportswriters Association poll on September 11, the Mariners played at Center Moriches’s homecoming on Friday night, where they suffered another tight loss to a perennial playoff contender in the Red Devils.
Southampton head coach Dave Riley said Friday night’s loss was a “great match with great ambiance for future, big-pressure matches.” Center Moriches scored the lone goal in the game when a Southampton defender, who was hurt with a substitute waiting to get in to replace him, tried passing the ball back to goalie Andy Panza. Nick Rotunda stole the back pass and scored and it wound up being the difference in the game. Riley said Panza played well in goal with eight saves.
Against Babylon, about halfway through the first half, the Panther’s high pressure at the top of the field caused the Mariners to commit a turnover in their own box. Cole Conboy picked up an errant pass and found Ciaran Stein at the top of the box. She dribbled in a few steps, then beat Panza in the bottom left corner of the goal for what was the only score of that game. Panza played well in that game, too. He was only credited with four saves, but was more active than that.
Southampton had a number of chances to score, especially in the second half, against a Babylon team that through this past Sunday had not allowed a single goal yet in five games. Jhoseph Garay Montalvo had a pair of scoring chances late in the game for the Mariners. The first, with just under 20 minutes remaining, was a header that went just wide and high of the goal, then about five minutes later, hit the post off a cross from a set corner play.
“I’m very impressed with their drive,” Riley said of his players after the loss to Babylon. “I think we have a couple of wrinkles we can iron out in terms of just tactical. But they look sharp, and it was enjoyable to watch when their chemistry was on.”
Southampton hosted Greenport on Tuesday night and will play at Pierson/Bridgehampton this Thursday, September 22, at 4:30 p.m.
