Tilden’s Peterson Barreau had two goals against Stuyvesant. (Lauren Marsh)
The end of the 2006 season is still painful for Tony Crescitelli.
Moments after an emotional victory sent then-undefeated Tilden to the PSAL Class A quarterfinals, he was informed by PSAL officials the Blue Devils had to forfeit the program’s biggest victory to date because of an ineligible player.
He’s kept that memory with him and shared it with his players before Thursday’s PSAL Class A second round matchup with Stuyvesant.
“I was saving that for an occasion like this,” he said. “They all responded.”
Buoyed by their coach’s touching words, No. 7 Tilden held off No. 10 Stuyvesant, 4-3, earning a quarterfinals meeting with Queens powerhouse Francis Lewis Monday at 2:30 p.m.
“That motivated us a lot,” junior striker Roody Pierre said.
Pierre and his dynamic running mate, Peterson Barreau, certainly played that way. The two Haiti natives have thrived together, combining for 48 goals and 19 assists during a perfect regular season. They’ve continued to produce in two postseason matches, scoring nine times and dishing out seven assists.
“This feels very good,” Pierre said. “We want to keep going – up, up and up. This year we had to prove to the PSAL we have good players. We also want to prove in Brooklyn we have good teams.”
They got that point across against Stuyvesant, one of the top teams from Manhattan A, roundly considered the league’s top division.
Against arguably their best opponent yet, they created chances and finished them off, Barreau with his speed and fancy dribbling and Pierre soaring above taller defenders and heading home a cross in each half.
“Roody is a great finisher – he’s 5-7, 5-8 with high heels on and he gets up there,” Crescitelli marveled.
Stuyvesant (9-5-0) responded each time, with Thomas Suchecki posting a hat trick. But it had no answer for the two Tilden playmakers.
After getting even at 1, Barreau ripped home a shot into the corner in the 44th minute. After Suchecki equalized in the 55th minute, Barreau tucked home a far side shot from 20 yards on the left flank just a minute later. And Pierre iced the game with a diving header on a Duhamel Mimy cross in the 72nd minute.
Barreau and Pierre met one another a few times back in Haiti through soccer. They immediately bonded at Tilden, on the field and off.
“It’s a pleasure for me to play with him,” Pierre said. “Together we can do a lot.”
As important as the high-scoring juniors have been, Crescitelli said several additions have been just important. Mimy, a central midfielder, has emerged as the quarterback for Tilden’s attack, a skilled junior who sets up Pierre and Barreau well. Goalkeeper Richler Morette and sweeper Winzow Pascal also joined the team, improving the Blue Devils’ previously porous back line.
The league isn’t taking back this quarterfinal berth – Crescitelli’s first in 12 seasons – though Tilden (14-0-0) isn’t content just to get to this point.
“I want to get to the final,” Barreau said.
Crescitelli giddily talked about taking on Francis Lewis, a talented team that has a 57-game undefeated streak in its division and has reached the city title game three of the last four years. The coach would love a shot at MLK, too, the nationally ranked powerhouse he was supposed to face in the quarterfinals back in 2006.
“At the beginning of the year I said this was a special team, and they are,” the coach said, “I’m very proud of what these kids did. They come from nothing. Whoever thought Tilden would get this far? And we’re in the final eight.”