PSAL boys soccer rankings
Before the PSAL’s second season begins, The Post presents its final rankings of the regular season. There’s no truth to the rumor the seeding committee – which convenes Thursday – will use this space as a cheat sheet. (In an unrelated topic, we started the rumor).
It feels like just yesterday, we were at Riverside Park as Martin Luther King Jr. and Beacon kicked off the PSAL regular season. It, in fact, was six weeks ago. Much has happened in that time, and much has stayed the same. MLK, for one, began at No. 1 and still sits atop the rankings. They are followed by Francis Lewis, which has occupied this spot for the last month. Columbus leapfrogged Lehman in Bronx A and here as well. Stuyvesant and Beacon hold at No. 5 and No. 6. Queens A West champion John Adams follows. Curtis is back after upsetting No. 8 Tottenville, as is No. 10 James Madison.
1. Martin Luther King Jr. (12-0-0) (Last week: 1)
Martin Jacobson has reason to be concerned. Despite finishing the season undefeated, the Knights struggled in a third meeting with rival Beacon on Sunday, pulling out a 2-1 win. For, if the two sides are to clash in the playoffs, the Blue Demons will have confidence entering the tilt. Kind of like MLK last year, who rebounded from a so-so regular season to win its third straight city title.
Next: PSAL Class A Playoffs
2. Francis Lewis (10-0-2) (2)
Last Saturday’s peculiar 3-all tie with John Bowne notwithstanding, nobody has played at a higher level than the Patriots of late. Though the coming month will determine whether this season can be judged as a failure or success, Francis Lewis should take a moment to soak in this fact: the Fresh Meadows school hasn’t dropped a league match since falling to Cardozo Sept. 20, 2006, a stretch of 44 games. In a division as perennially difficult to navigate as Queens A East, that’s a significant accomplishment for Roger Sarmuksnis’ program, which is 37-0-6 in that impressive span.
Next: PSAL Class A playoffs
3. Columbus (10-1-1) (4)
Before the year began, coach Jason Renick expected senior Michael Asante to be able to replace the production of Stephen Furze, last year’s speedy and skilled striker. In that manner, Asante never quite lived up to expectations, although he was solid up front. Little did Renick know freshman midfielder Endri Berisha would become such a force. The underclassman erupted for two goals on Sunday as Columbus clinched their second straight division title. The Explorers’ dominance may not end this fall; Berisha and leading scorer Alhoussain Bah will be back next year.
Next: PSAL Class A Playoffs
4. Lehman (9-0-3) (3)
The Lions are tough to figure out. They didn’t drop a match in Bronx A, yet tied four-win DeWitt Clinton twice, costing them the division crown. Lehman has the skilled players – such as Bronx A leading scorer Simon Kim (15 goals) and talented center midfielder Maxi Berterame and Sam Aghahowa – to make a deep run in the upcoming city playoffs. But they also have questions in net and are prone to playing down to the competition.
Next: PSAL Class A Playoffs
5. Stuyvesant (7-3-2) (5)
For the fourth straight fall, Stuyvesant finished third in Manhattan A, behind No. 1 MLK and No. 6 Beacon. It weren’t the two losses to the Knights or one setback to the Blue Demons that assured Stuy of that spot, but the two draws with Julia Richman. It likely will be the difference in a favorable seed and far tougher one come Thursday.
Next: PSAL Class A Playoffs
6. Beacon (8-4-0) (6)
In their third showdown with top-ranked MLK, the Blue Demons showed how far it has come in recent weeks. They scored for the first time this season aganst MLK and held the offensively-potent Knights to a pair of goals. Beacon also has seen the emergence of junior Joseph Nikic as a legitimate threat alongside senior Pasal Louis. Nikic led Manhattan A in scoring this fall with 12 goals and added five assists. Alex Mahrer’s club is still a title contender, despite its subpar regular season.
Next: PSAL Class Playoffs
7. John Adams (10-2-0) (8)
Center midfielder Rodolfo Paguada emerged as one of the city’s must-watch talents this spring. Scoring 11 goals and dishing out nine assists, he separated himself as an elite playmaker. With plenty of help from forward Morisanda Dioubate, he carried the Spartans to the Queens A West crown, just two years after they won the ‘B’ title. He is not just one to watch this postseason, but next season, too when he is, without question, in the conversation for Player of the Year honors.
Next: PSAL Class A Playoffs
8. Curtis (11-1-2) (NR)
If the Warriors miss junior star Christian Aldaz (likely out for the season after undergoing an appendectomy), they are doing a great job of hiding it. Since Aldaz left the lineup Sept. 22, Curtis is 7-1-1. The Staten Island dynamo avenged that one loss on Monday be knocking off eight-ranked Tottenville, 3-2. Can that success translate once the playoffs begin? With five players scoring at least six times, the Warriors certainly have enough weapons.
Next: PSAL Class A Playoffs
9. Tottenville (12-1-1) (7)
The year before Ron Nathanson took over the soccer program, the Pirates finished dead last in Staten Island A with an unsightly 2-10-0 record. Tottenville made the playoffs his first year. It won the division this season, snapping No. 7 Curtis’ five-year reign. Clearly, Nathanson has done a wonderful job in Huguenot, no matter what happens in the playoffs.
Next: PSAL Class A Playoffs
10. James Madison (8-1-3) (NR)
This wasn’t the regular season Nick Punzone envisioned. The Knights dropped their first league match since Oct. 11, 2007. They settled for three draws. And needed to rally past Fort Hamilton the final game of the regular-season, on the strength of two Alex Bravo goals, to win their fourth straight division title. Still, Madison is at the top of Brooklyn – its customary perch – entering the playoffs. That, Punzone likes.
Next: PSAL Class A Playoffs
New: Curtis (11-1-2) and James Madison (8-1-3)
Dropped out: Fort Hamilton (8-2-2) and Erasmus Hall (9-2-1)
On the bubble: Bronx Science (7-4-1), Fort Hamilton (8-2-2), Erasmus Hall (9-2-1), Bayside (8-3-1), Thomas Jefferson (14-0-0), Martin Van Buren (13-0-1) and Susan Wagner (10-2-2)
