No. 1 Martin Luther King Jr.’s Ibrahim Diaby will return against No. 4 Beacon on Thursday. (Damion Reid)
NYPost.com PSAL boys soccer beat writer Zach Braziller breaks down Thursday’s PSAL Class A semifinals at noon on Randall’s Island.
SCHEDULE
12 p.m. – No. 1 Martin Luther King Jr. vs. No. 4 Beacon
12 p.m. – No. 2 Francis Lewis vs. No. 3 Tottenville
No. 1 Martin Luther King Jr. Knights
Head coach: Martin Jacobson
Record: 15-1-0, Manhattan A
Player to watch: Moriken Sangary
How they got there: Defeated No. 16 Fort Hamilton, 5-0, in second round and No. 8 Curtis, 2-1, in quarterfinals.
No. 4 Beacon Blue Demons
Head coach: Alec Mahrer
Record: 14-2-1, Manhattan A
Player to watch: Joe Nikic
How they got there: Defeated No. 13 Cardozo, 1-0, in second round and No. 5 John Adams, 3-2, in quarterfinals.
Outlook: Martin Luther King Jr. and Beacon in the semifinals. Enough said. The premier rivalry in the PSAL, arguably in any sport, resumes tomorrow. The last time the two met in the playoffs was the 2008 final, won by King, 2-0. MLK is in the semifinals for the 16th straight year, Beacon seven seasons in a row.
MLK has owned the rivalry since then, winning five straight matches, including two during the regular season, by a combined 5-1 score. Beacon played the Knights well, but was unable to play a full 80 minutes of soccer. The Blue Demons got off to a slow start in the first meeting and never recovered. They were without stalwarts Jesse White and Peter Poulos in the second matchup. Poulos has since moved back to Long Island, but White will be ready to go this time.
In Poulos’ absence, Nikic has emerged, notching a hat trick in a dramatic 3-2 win over No. 5 Adams in the quarterfinals. The senior striker has help up front, from skilled midfielders Walker Latham, Ryan Cupolo, Luca Quinn and Reza Malek.
“Other people when we went down were screaming a little bit, but Joey really kept his composure and he keeps everyone else calm around him,” Mahrer said. “He was very focused on what he had needed to do.”
King survived a surprisingly stiff test from No. 8 Curtis in the quarterfinals, finding itself a goal down 30 minutes from full time. Sangary, the city’s leading goal scorer with 33 tallies during the regular season, made sure it didn’t last, setting up freshman Jethro Dede and scoring his third goal of the playoffs.
“I was like, ‘If I get a chance, I’m going to put it away. If I don’t get a chance, I’m going to make an assist,’” Sangary said.
The Knights will now get back striker Tarek Beckles and midfielder Ibrahaim Diaby, the talented duo who sat out the first two matches of the postseason after they were issued red cards in the regular-season finale.
“It’s going to be a different game now,” Jacobson said. “We’re gonna be a totally different team.”
Beacon would have it no other way. It walked off the field after the second showdown confident in its play, feeling if it faced King again, the result would be different. Now the Blue Demons get that chance, to end their five-game slide against MLK, to get back to the city title game.
“It should be a classic,” Mahrer said.
No. 2 Francis Lewis Patriots
Head coach: Roger Sarmuksnis
Record: 13-0-1, Queens A East
Player to watch: Chris Herrera
How they got there: Defeated No. 15 Stuyvesant, 1-0, in second round and No. 7 William Bryant, 3-0, in quarterfinals.
No. 3 Tottenville Pirates
Head coach: Ron Nathanson
Record: 16-0-0, Staten Island A
Player to watch: Marco Mingozzi
How they got there: Defeated No. 19 Long Island City, 2-1, in second round and No. 11 Bayside, 2-0, in quarterfinals.
Outlook: Playing side by side at Randall’s Island on Monday, no one could blame Francis Lewis or Tottenville if it glanced over at one another during their quarterfinals shutouts. One club will be sky-high while the other will be distraught by early Thursday afternoon.
The Pirates were a great story last year, the Huguenot school coming out of nowhere to win the Island and reach the semifinals. They were merely happy to reach the final four, losing to powerhouse Martin Luther King Jr. by a 4-0 count. Now, however, the Pirates have their sights set on a title.
There may not be a more balanced team in the city. Midfielder Marco Mingozzi (17 goals, 17 assists during the regular season) has excelled all year for Tottenville in tandem with Carlo Coladonato. Mingozzi came up big in the quarterfinals, scoring the match’s lone two goals.
“We wouldn’t be where we are if not for him,” Nathanson said of Mingozzi. “He does everything we ask him to do.”
The Staten Island dynamo is equally strong in the back, led by underrated goalkeeper Joe Morvillo and do-it-all fullback Arlind Nika.
Lewis isn’t the offensive juggernaut it’s been in years past, depending on balanced scoring. Sweeper-turned-striker Nate Richardson led the Patriots in scoring during the regular season with 12 goals, but six others scored at least thre times.
The five-time Queens A East champions are best in the back, where 6-foot-4 Adelphi-bound keeper Chris Herrera resides. Fullbacks Michael Zebzda, Adrian Garcia and Luigi Puello make sure Herrera, who has registered three postseason shutout in six starts, doesn’t get too much work.