Santiago Moore hopes to lead sixth-seeded Bayside to an upset of No. 3 Beacon, the defending champion, on Monday. (Philip Hall)
PSAL boys soccer beat writer Zach Braziller breaks down Monday’s PSAL Class A quarterfinals at neutral sites.
No. 1 Martin Luther King Jr. Knights
Head coach: Martin Jacobson
Record: 13-0-0, Manhattan A
Player to watch: Ibrahim Diaby
No. 24 DeWitt Clinton Governors
Head coach: Andrea Milsome
Record: 8-5-1, Bronx A
Player to watch: Darren Harris
Outlook: If ever there was a David versus Goliath, this is it. MLK is ranked fifth in the country by NSCAA/Adidas, went undefeated during the regular season including non-league victories over top competition such as St. John the Baptist and Newburgh Free Academy and has the PSAL’s unquestioned top midfield in Ibrahim Diaby, Tarek Beckles and Bryan Moya.
Clinton, by contrast, finished fourth in Bronx A and, based on its seeding, was supposed to be knocked out by No. 9 Tottenville in the opening round. Yet the Governors shocked the Pirates than ousted borough rival Bronx Science, the eighth seed, to get to this point. So while MLK is the overwhelming favorite, Clinton is playing with house money.
No. 2 Francis Lewis Patriots
Head coach: Roger Sarmuksnis
Record: 13-0-0, Queens A East
Player to watch: Danny Bedoya
No. 7 Tilden Blue Devils
Head coach: Tony Crescitelli
Record: 13-0-0, Brooklyn A Central
Player to watch: Peterson Barreau
Outlook: This matchup is for the goal lover. Don’t look for any clean sheets between these two undefeated division winners.
Francis Lewis relies on depth – five different players scored at least four goals and Danny Bedoya, Yiming Yang and Daniel Castro each had at least 11 – possession and spacing. Tilden, on the other hand, is all about the speed and skill of dynamic duo Peterson Barreau and Roody Pierre, who combined to score 48 goals during the regular season and have nine so far in the playoffs in leading the Blue Devils to their first ‘A’ quarterfinal berth.
Add in back lines that have yet to truly be tested, and the first one to four may prevail.
No. 3 Beacon Blue Demons
Head coach: Alec Mahrer
Record: 11-2-0, Manhattan A
Player to watch: Max Brown
No. 6 Bayside Commodores
Head coach: Joe Corrado
Record: 11-2-1, Queens A East
Player to watch: Santiago Moore
Outlook: The defending champions have hit their stride and will be a tough out, even if they were less than impressive in a 2-1 win over No. 19 Thomas Jefferson on Thursday. Beacon hasn’t scored in bunches, anyway, but the Blue Demons are typically organized and stingy in the back, Fordham-bound central midfielder Ryan Cupolo has regained his all-city caliber form and junior Jeremy Hardy has emerged as a lethal finisher.
Bayside is still trying to find itself. It was nearly upset by No. 11 FDR in the second round, needing penalty kicks to get through to the quarterfinals. The Commodores are dangerous – any team with the likes of Santiago Moore, Andres Huerfano and Dennis Amvrosiatos can’t be taken lightly – and have the potential to pull the upset as they are experienced and nearly knocked off second-seeded Francis Lewis earlier this season.
No. 5 Aviation Flyers
Head coach: Mario Cotumaccio
Record: 13-1-0, Queens A West
Player to watch: Sebastian Choinski
No. 20 John Adams Spartans
Head coach: Alex Navarrete
Record: 9-4-1, Queens A West
Player to watch: Joshua Lawrence
Outlook: If not for Clinton, John Adams would be the surprise of the ‘A’ postseason. Instead, the Spartans are merely a nice story, a tale of an inconsistent team finding its way at the right time.
Senior forward Josh Lawrence had led the charge with four postseason goals – two less than he produced during the regular season – while keepers Henry Gonzalez and Wilson Mera have both stood tall in their respective starts. Adams believes this is its best chance to reach the semifinals in the ‘A’ league since it had to get by Beacon in two previous trips, both of them losses, and took Aviation to overtime twice during the regular season, though it fell short on both occasions.
The Flyers have been pushed in both playoff wins, pulling out an overtime victory over No. 28 Brooklyn International and edging No. 12 Columbus in the second round. They have lived on the edge, winning six times by a single goal.
Aviation is a star-less team of upperclassmen that has dealt with losing in previous years but has persevered to enjoy this dream season. Aviation won Queens A West for the first time in five years and is now back in its first quarterfinals since 2005.
