CHSAA boys soccer beat writer Marc Raimondi takes a look at the Class A semifinals, set for Wednesday and Thursday at home sites.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday
3 p.m. – LaSalle @ Mount St. Michael
Thursday
3 p.m. – St. Joseph by the Sea @ Monsignor McClancy
LaSalle Cardinals
Head coach: Al Barbosa
Record: 11-3-1
Player to watch: Suleiman Haruna-Iya
Mount St. Michael Mountaineers
Head coach: Mike Boyle
Record: 12-1-3
Player to watch: Anton Porter
Outlook: Yes, the classic favorite vs. Cinderella matchup. But it’s not as cut and dried as it might appear.
Mount St. Michael hasn’t lost since its first game of the season – a streak of 15 matches – and is the odds-on selection to win the ‘A’ title. But this has been a long time coming. The Mountaineers have not won a boys soccer championship since 1980, when assistant coach Danny Boyle was in uniform. Their best chance is now, led by keeper Colm Burke, scintillating freshman striker Anton Porter and consistent mainstays Fabian Leon, Harold Herrera and Corneilus Krapah.
Mount went to the semis last year, but LaSalle hasn’t been this far in a long time. The Cardinals have their own special group and an all-city caliber talent in Nigerian import Suleiman Haruna-Iya, who is the program’s best player since pro Bakary Soumare took the pitch for LaSalle. The squad also has guys like Haris Kolenovic and Oscar Estrada who can find the back of the net and strong leadership from captains Vito Mannino, Edgar Galvez and Jorge Barranchea.
It’s certainly not your typical David vs. Goliath meeting.
St. Joseph by the Sea Vikings
Head coach: Bill Hunt
Record: 9-1-6
Player to watch: Justin Bommarito
Monsignor McClancy Crusaders
Head coach: Mike Sylvester
Record: 12-2-2
Player to watch: Sal Pipia
Outlook: Other than Mount, there might not be a hotter team in the league right now than St. Joseph by the Sea. The Vikings have turned all those regular-season ties into wins in the postseason, blasting All Hallows, 3-0, and Blessed Sacrament, 6-1. All that good soccer has come around finally, and at the perfect time. Justin Bommarito and Michael Cannizzaro are really clicking, John Gioeli has been solid in net all season and the defense has been extremely stout.
Sea beat McClancy, 2-1, in the second meeting – the first was a scoreless tie – but that was when the Crusaders didn’t have captain Sal Pipia. The senior returned Tuesday from a dislocated shoulder and scored the golden goal against St. Edmund Prep in the quarterfinals. This is the first time McClancy has been fully healthy all year and a healthy McClancy is a very dangerous McClancy. The Crusaders still own the only victory over Mount St. Michael all season.
Sea, coincidentally, only has one loss – to Mount. Something has to give Thursday with a finals berth on the line.