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Massapequa Soccer teams have dazzling finishes Soccer has been flourishing in Massapequa for quite some time. The junior programs are solid, the varsity coaching staffs inherit extremely talented players and the club teams are just as good. So, it was no surprise to see the boys and girls varsity teams in the Long Island Championship games this year. They both may have lost, 1-0, but it doesn't negate their being perennial contenders who will both be back again next year with similar fire power. The boys team has won five of the last six Nassau County titles and were stumped, 1-0, by Hills West, while the girls team lost, 1-0, to Sachem East, for the second straight season. "We played well," boys head coach Keith Stanley said. "We just didn't get the results. We had a great post-season up until that game and we're disappointed with the results, not the effort." Said girls head coach Kerry Jacobs: "We had one of the highest work rates on our team in a long time. Unfortunatley, things didn't go our way. It was a couple of small things that went wrong. Their back-up keeper came in and made some huge saves." At this point in the soccer program's history, Stanley said both teams are expected to perform at the level they are, simultaneously. "I just hope the kids appreciate how difficult it is, to do what they do," he said. "All the credit goes to the junior level coaches, but when [the players] come to us, it's about creating a team that can win. There is a lot of pressure, but it's good because it builds a sense of confidence." The boys finished 12-4-2 this year in Conference AA-I, while the girls were 16-3-1. Senior Dan Thomson scored five of his teams 10 playoff goals, many of which were game winners and important go-ahead tallies. Jimmy Altadonna, who has been a mainstay in the soccer spotlight on Long Island for a number of years, played well this season. They're losing about 12 guys from this team to graduation, a few of which will go on to play college soccer, but nothing has been decided at this point. "We'll be strong again next year, but different," Stanley said. "Honestly, I felt like my second team this year can compete with any of the teams we played. But, I don't know if we'll be able to move the ball around as well this year. It's too early to tell." For the girls, Vickie DiMartino's name popped up a lot on the score cards this year. She was an outstanding offensive player. They had a lot of juniors in key positions, so they should be just as good next year. While both of the 1-0 losses will sting for a little, the school should still be bonkers about two dominant soccer teams. It's not Europe, so there won't be any car fires and riots if Massapequa wins a Long Island title on the soccer field next year, but count them in as contenders as usual.
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