NYPost.com PSAL boys soccer beat writer Zach Braziller breaks down Friday’s Class B semifinals at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn.
No. 1 John F. Kennedy Knights
Head coach: O’Neil Spencer
Record: 15-1-0, Bronx B
Player to watch: Stephen Owusu
How they got there: Defeated No. 16 Hillcrest, 5-2, in the second round, and defeated No. 8 Hunter College HS, 2-1, in the quarterfinals.
No. 5 Queens Vocational Tech Tigers
Head coach: Anthony Ali
Record
: 13-2-1, Queens B-II
Player to watch: Mark Puma
How they got there: Defeated No. 21 Robert F. Wagner Jr., 2-1 in overtime, in the second round, and defeated No. 4 New Utrecht, 3-2 in penalty kicks, in the quarterfinals.
Outlook: Kennedy knocked off last year’s champion, Hunter College, in the quarterfinals and now looks to take down the 2009 champion Queens Vocational Tech on Friday. After two mediocre .500 seasons, the high-scoring Knights won Bronx B, dropping its regular-season finale to Mott Haven, a game that meant very little.
Queens Vocational Tech has the same centerpieces – John Velasquez, Mark Puma, Benji Zamora and Jonnathan Avila – that led the Tigers to the ‘B’ crown two years ago, only they are now seniors. Avila led the entire PSAL with 25 assists during the regular season while Puma, Zamora and Velazquez combined for 51 goals in leading Queens Vocational to the Queens B-II crown. Despite that firepower, the Tigers have needed extra time in each playoff victory.
No. 2 Millennium Phoenix
Head coach: Chris O’Neill
Record: 13-1-0, Manhattan B-I
Player to watch: Patryk Jarosz
How they got there: Defeated No. 15 Grover Cleveland, 4-3 in penalty kicks, in the second round, and defeated No. 7 Springfield Gardens, 3-1, in the quarterfinals.
No. 6 Washington Irving Bulldogs
Head coach: Mark Hayward
Record: 14-1-0, Manhattan B-I
Player to watch: Itamar Alv Pereira
How they got there: Defeated No. 27 Mott Haven, 3-1, in the first round; defeated No. 22 Newtown, 1-0, in the second round; and defeated No. 3 FDA, 2-1, in the quarterfinals.
Outlook: The rubber match between these two Manhattan B-I rivals means a lot more than bragging rights. It’s for a spot in the ‘B’ finals. They split the season series, Washington Irving winning, 3-2, Sept. 14 and Millennium taking the rematch, 1-0, Oct. 7.
Irving is led by its dynamic junior striker Itamar Alv Pereira, who has 27 goals during the regular season and playoffs. Millennium, meanwhile, relies on depth – seven players scored four goals or more – and experience. The Phoenix have also spent the last year trying to get back to this point, ever since losing to Monroe in the semis.