Monday afternoon’s 2-2 draw with Francis Lewis didn’t tell Joe Corrado anything he didn’t know about his team. The Bayside boys soccer coach likes his club’s skill level, its fight, and the mixture of veterans and youngsters.
The players, on the other hand, weren’t quite sure before the Lewis game despite commanding victories over Cardozo and Forest Hills to start the season.
“They just showed themselves,” Corrado said.
The Commodores, indeed, got the better of play. They muddied the game into a physical affair against the finesse Patriots, who made the city semifinals last year and the final the season before. Bayside never trailed, leading 1-0 and 2-1 on goals, in each half, by freshmen JP Bello and Andres Huerfano. Keeper Constantine Pougiouklidis was brilliant, making one spectacular save after another. If not for an inadvertent hand ball in the 79th minute, Bayside would’ve snapped Lewis’ current 37-match unbeaten streak within the borough.
“They know who we are now,” Bello said.
There were smiles and high-fives exchanged afterwards among the Commodores. Corrado said his three freshmen starters — Bello, Huerfano, and stopper Daniel Babar — grew up. Ditto for Pougiouklidis, the sophomore keeper who Bello said, “stopped like four goals that were going in.”
“I leave here thinking they can live up to what I think they can do,” Corrado said. “[The tie] doesn’t take away anything. Of course I’m happy. It’s been a long time since we got a tie or win against Francis Lewis. It’s definitely a big step.”
Said Bello: “I feel like we won because we outplayed them in their house.”
Francis Lewis (2-0-1) didn’t share that sentiment. The Patriots, the borough’s pace-setter the last four years, failed to finish off several golden opportunities. There were miscues in the back that led to the two goals by Bayside (2-0-1), inaccurate passing and over-dribbling.
Generally media friendly, Lewis coach Roger Sarmusknis declined comment and didn’t make his players available to reporters afterward.
“We’re gonna move on from this,” he said. “[I’m] not happy. … I really enjoy the coverage. It’s just this one time.”
Huerfano got Bayside on the board first, heading in a cross past Lewis keeper Sam Mignon in the sixth minute. The Patriots got even on a pretty display of unselfishness. Sophomore midfielder Bryant Wong sent junior Fadil Paljevic down the left flank. Paljevic controlled, dribbled toward the box from the end line and fed senior striker Khalid Kamran, who rifled home the setup in the 23rd minute. Bello put the Commodores ahead 12 minutes after intermission by following up Hernan Benavides’ initial shot.
“We had a chance to put the game away at 3-1; that’s a lesson learned,” Corrado said. “But we played a very good game.”
Neither side was happy with the officiating. Eight yellow cards – four to each team – were handed out, including one to Sarmuksnis. Lewis was given five free kicks in the second half, each one turned away by Pougiouklidis. His greatest save was a headlong dive to the right corner on Wong’s rocket through the Bayside wall.
The Commodores couldn’t escape the final whistle against them. Kamran’s shot was blocked in the box by Bello, but it bounced off his right hand, setting up the penalty shot that Lewis star Sebastian Guenzatti buried. By diving to the right, Pougiouklidis guessed right. He was nevertheless late.
“I thought I knew which way he was going,” Pougiouklidis said.
After this performance, Bayside seems to be going in the right direction.