Sports

MLK encouraged by tight loss to Flushing

Christelle Estime separated herself from a crowd of Flushing defenders as she dribbled the ball up the middle of the field on a breakaway. The senior forward finished the run with a goal to pull her Martin Luther King Jr. team within a score of top-seeded and defending champion Flushing in the 51st minute.

“I just went straight forward and kicked it in the corner,” Estime said. “I guess I was faster than [defender Sara Lijo].”

It was the fourth-seeded Knights’ overall speed that made them a tough out for the Red Devils, who eventually pulled through with a 3-1 victory in the PSAL Class B girls soccer semifinals at Flushing Meadow Park Thursday. It is the second straight season MLK fell a game short of the final.

“It shows us that we have to beat this semifinal curse,” sweeper Renee Drummond said. “We are going to be one of the strongest teams next year. It just gives us more confidence and security.”

Estime’s goal lifted any level of comfort held by Flushing (16-0). The Red Devils were being controlled by Drummond and the speedy MLK (12-1-2) defense. The sophomore ran down and knocked the ball away from Red Devils strikers Melissa Lijo and Andrea Jimenez throughout the first half.

“They are use to keeping the ball in there end and pushing everybody up,” Knights coach Gerald Herring said. “We had a field position battle. We would put our lineup up and we would make them have to beat our speed.”

Melissa Lijo opened the scoring in the 28th minute on a breakaway and Jimenez scored off the rebound of a Melissa Lijo shot to open the second half and give Flushing (16-0) at 2-0 lead. Jimenez capped the scoring with a blast from 18 yards in the 65th minute.

MLK took the loss as a sign of things to come. It has just four seniors on the roster and Flushing and FDR will likely move up to the ‘A’ league, leaving the door wide open for another title run.

“We are a work in progress,” Herring said. “We are a young team.”