Massapequa Boys Soccer Ties Farmingdale in Battle of County Powerhouses

Score: Massapequa 0, Farmingdale 0

Records: Massapequa 1-0-1; Farmingdale 1-0-2

The Hero: The game was as balanced as it gets, but the Massapequa Chiefs defense kept a very talented Farmingdale offense off the scoreboard. The Farmingdale Dalers had three chances to get on the board early in the first half, but after that the Chiefs defense shut things down. Seniors George Sinacore, Nick Fetzer, Sean Vinberg and Jeremy Baldwin broke up close to a dozen dangerous crosses and never buckled. "We haven't really worked with the defense, that was my one concern today," said Massapequa coach Keith Stanley after the game. "I didn't see any of their guys lose in the second half and we won most of the balls. It got a little messy in the middle a couple of times but we still got in between the ball and the goal and that's all I can ask right now."

The Turning Point: Stanley's halftime speech coupled with a solid strategy helped change the tides for the Chiefs. The first half saw the scoring chances slightly favor the Dalers, but the Chiefs took control with both the sun and the wind at their backs in the second half. The Chiefs had a goal disallowed six minutes into the second half because of a handball, but continued to put on the pressure. Massapequa's offense totaled four shots in a 12-minute span late in the second half and had an opportunity to score on a direct kick with just four seconds left.

The Quote: "Coming into Farmingdale, it's better than a loss," Stanley said. "Of course we're disappointed with the result. I feel like we played well enough to win."

The Bottom Line: From start to finish the game had the feel of a county championship game. The physical play and emotions certainly got the best of the both teams on more than one occasion, but only two yellow cards were given out. Massapequa goalie Sean Brailey only had to make three saves on the afternoon, but controlled his box well and also made several smart plays to keep the Farmingdale offense at bay. The two teams will meet again on Oct. 7 at Massapequa.

Key Stat: There were a total of 12 fouls in the second half.

Who's Next? Sept. 22, Uniondale @ Massapequa (Burns Park East), 4:30 p.m.

Conference AA-I

Teams……………………1……2 – F

Massapequa……….…0......0 – 0

Farmingdale……….….0……0 – 0