The Martin Luther King Jr. players smiled, joked and began to roughhouse with one another. The Knights were basking in the euphoric feeling that comes not only with beating archrival Beacon, but in throttling the Blue Demons like they had, 3-0, to kick off the PSAL boys soccer season at Riverside Park in Manhattan.
Martin Jacobson quickly put an end to that.
“When do I smile Alex,” the MLK asked his senior sweeper, Alex Zorrilla. Before the veteran could respond, Jacobson replied: “When we win the championship.”
It was the coach’s way of downplaying the victory, however symbolic.
Last year, Beacon (0-1-0) won both regular-season meetings en route to the Manhattan A division crown before falling to the Knights in the city final. The Blue Demons graduated four core seniors – midfielder Caetano Sanchez, striker Baimba Freeman, keeper Jesse Toporek, and sweeper Will Congdon – while MLK returned eight starters.
“We’ve reversed roles,” Jacobson said. “They’re not as talented. There’s no way you lose that and come back. Now they have to rebuild a little bit and we have all the seniors. We’re supposed to better.”
They certainly looked the part.
Midfielders David Diosa and Diego Montaleza scored in each half and Beacon fullback Jacob Kipnis was responsible for an own goal in the final minute of play. MLK keeper Jean Carlo Perez, a senior who had patiently waited for his opportunity, made six saves, including an acrobatic headlong dive to turn away Tom Poulos’ penalty shot in the 64th minute.
“They talk a lot, so it feels very good,” center midfielder Sebastian Ramirez said. “When we get our stuff straight it’s going to be very hard for them to give us a game.”
Jacobson wasn’t pleased with the entire effort. He felt his club came out tentative and unwilling to take chances. When the lead grew to a two-goal differential, the Knights relaxed, instead of turning up their pressure. Fullbacks Chris Batista and Serigne Dioum also left with cramps, an indication, Jacobson said, his team isn’t fit.
“Excellent result,” Jacobson said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
MLK, of course, still breezed to victory. Montaleza, an Ecuadorian import, got the Knights on the board first, racing past fullbacks and beating keeper Max Brown to a through ball in the 36th minute. Diosa struck briefly after intermission, stripping fullback Alex Schrum, and quickly flicking a left-footed shot into the right corner past Brown.
“They’re very skilled,” Beacon coach Alec Mahrer said. “We had our hands full.”
Beacon had its fair share of opportunities and miscues. There was the penalty shot Poulos failed to bury, a set piece he missed picking off the top corner by inches, Schrum’s giveaway in his own end, and a handful of offside violations that nullified rushes.
“It’s early in the season,” Jacobson said. “I’m sure they’ll correct it.”
He added: “I still feel we’re the two best teams in the city.”
The Blue Demons will get two more shots at MLK: Sept. 30 at East River Park and Oct. 18 at Newtown HS Field in Queens.
“We can give them a run for their money,” Poulos said. “Today wasn’t our day.”