Mepham Boys Soccer Has Season Come to an End Against Top-Seed Hicksville

Mepham fought until the final minute at Hicksville High School, but when the time ran out, the Comet offense was too much as the Pirates saw their season come to a close with a 4-0 loss in the Class AA quarterfinals. The loss on Wednesday afternoon moved Mepham's final record to 9-7-0 overall.

The No. 9 Pirates came out in the first half with the intensity and passion they were looking for that allowed them to advance past No. 8 Uniondale by a 1-0 score on the road in the first round. However, top ranked Hicksville showed why its 2011 season has gone nearly unblemished with a now 13-1-1 overall record.

“I thought we got off to a pretty good start, but we didn’t have the same we had defending that we had against Uniondale,” said Mepham head coach James Koester. “It has been a great group. It is going to look different for next year with 15 seniors graduating.”

Despite some chances for Mepham in the opening minutes, Lucas Munoz gave Hicksville a 1-0 lead with a shot past goalkeeper Steve Fotinos, who finished with eight saves. Within the next 10 minutes of play, Kyle Poetzch extended the lead with a pair of goals.

Down 3-0, Mepham found itself in a hole that would need to be solved for the season to last at least another game. The offense, led by Stephen Polimeni, Harly Hosty and Dante Ippolito, came out running and battling to the ball every chance they got in an attempt to scrape away at the three-goal deficit.

In the 60th minute, Mepham was dealt its final blow when Dimitri Partsinevelos extended the Hickville lead to 4-0, where the score would remain for the rest of the quarterfinal match-up.

“We came in very confident to pull off another upset, but at the end of the day, you just have to tip your cap because they played better than us,” said Polimeni, senior captain . “It has been great and everyday and everything we have been doing. We have grown as a family, more than a team.”

Despite the loss, Mepham has a lot to be proud of for its 2011 season. The boys finished in second place in a challenging Conference AA-II, only behind the Elmont Spartans.

The Pirates got off to the start they were looking for in September, winning four of their first five games, including a 5-2 win at home against Carey on Sept. 19. Despite a tough start to October, the team rebounded to win consecutive games against Great Neck South and Westbury, 4-3 and 2-1, respectively.

Mepham wrapped up its regular season with a 5-3 win over rival Kennedy, led by a pair of goals from Polimeni, before moving on to defeat the Knights in the first round of the playoffs. Mepham had lost in the first round each of the last two seasons to Farmingdale in 2009 and Syosset in 2010.

Congratulations to the 2011 Mepham Boys Soccer team on a season well done!