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Overcast South Side always aiming high
It’s all about winning the final game of the season.
That’s the mantra from coach Fred Paul and the South Side boys’ soccer team as it embarks on the home stretch of the 2019 regular season and ensuing playoffs. The Cyclones are undefeated in league play at 4-0-3 and still have an outside chance for their second straight conference title, but Paul feels his team still hasn’t peaked yet and needs to clean up some parts of its game with three matches remaining.
Some of those flaws, Paul said, were evident in the team’s most recent game, a 1-1 home tie against Hewlett on Oct. 5. South Side had several chances to score in the first half, but the team that has scored just 16 goals in 10 games this fall failed to convert.
“We tied a good team the other day, but the truth of the matter is we had two chances inside the first two minutes of the game that should have made it 2-0, which would have made it a totally different game,” he said. “We have to finish our chances.”
Junior Adin Wilson scored for the Cyclones, who allowed their first goal in league play since a 2-2 draw against Glen Cove on Sept. 10.
“I think he’s the best goalkeeper on Long Island,” Paul said. “It’s not just when he makes the saves, there’s a certain comfort level the whole team has knowing he’s there so you’re able to play at a higher level, knowing if you make a mistake, you have the big guy behind you.”
Offensively, senior outside midfielder Aidan Prendergast and freshman Ryan McNicholas share the team lead with four goals apiece. Prendergast scored twice in the first half of the Cyclones’ 3-0 win at Roosevelt on Sept. 18 and McNicholas had two of South Side’s four second-half goals in a 4-0 rout of Great Neck North on Oct. 2.
For South Side to have any chance to repeat as conference champs, they need to defeat first-place Jericho (6-0-1) on Thursday, whom it trails by four points at press time. The Cyclones will finish the season at home against Carey (Oct. 15) and Manhasset (Oct. 17).
South Side advanced to the county semifinals last year and seeks its first Class A title since 2014. The program has yet to win a Long Island title and the hunger for that plus a state championship has not waned.
“That’s going to be our goal every year,” he said. “They know what they’re capable of. We have to play to our strengths and take away the other team’s strengths.”
