This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Wantagh Boys Soccer Advances to Semifinals

Fourth-seeded Warriors knock off Bethpage in Election Day quarterfinal match.

The fourth seeded boys soccer team came into Tuesday's Nassau County quarterfinal game facing the bottom seed in the bracket, Bethpage, in front of its home fans. However, 12th-seeded Bethpage was not a team to be underestimated as the Eagles were coming off an upset over fifth seeded Lynbrook. Wantagh, which defeated Plainedge 2-1 in the first round of playoff action this past Saturday, put the throttle down as soon as it hit the pitch and took no chances. The Warriors scored early and often in Tuesday's Election Day matinee at Wantagh High School in a 3-1 win to advance to the Nassau County semifinals against the top-seeded Manhasset on Friday at 5 p.m. at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale.

The Hero- Wantagh senior captain Sean Devito played his center mid-field position to perfection as he was the ringleader behind many of the Warrior scoring chances. Although his name does not show up in the stat sheet, a lot of credit for Wantagh's three goals should be given to Devito. He was able to provide numerous lob passes and through balls to forwards Alec Chapoteau and Jordan Zucker, who both scored a goal apiece. Mike Rumel also scored a goal for Wantagh.

Turning Point- Devito came down with the ball in the 16th minute of the game. Based on his previous passes and Chapoteau's breakaway speed, the sideline felt a lob pass coming. Devito delivered with precision as he hit Chapoteau on the feet. Chapoteau then battled his defender for possession and due to good strength was able to muscle off a pass into the box across the field. The ball found its way to right forward Zucker, who had been swarming around the net all game, and he finally got his goal. This put Wantagh up 3-0 and gave the Warriors a confident lead to work with.

Quote- Tom Liguori said after the victory, "I think our first playoff game was a wake up call and a good lesson for us. It showed us that during playoffs, anything is possible. This was a second chance for us, against a team that upset number five seed Lynbrook. We just told ourselves that we are going to come out here and just play. We're a difficult team to beat and I felt like today we played our best game."

Bottom Line- With this victory Wantagh now advances to the semi-finals where they will face the top seeded Manhasset club. It will be an even match up between two conference champions. Wantagh showed another level of play on Tuesday and if it continues to play that way, it should make for a very competitive game. With a hard-nosed defense and key playmaker's all over the field, Wantagh will be shooting to continue its season into mid November when it hits the pitch at Mitchel Athletic Complex this Friday. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. 


Teams                      1                          2                         Final
Wantagh                 2                          1                            3
Bethpage                0                          1                            1

Goals
WAN- Alec Chapoteau 6'
WAN- Mike Rumel 17'
WAN- Jordan Zucker 60'
BETH- Tom Asselta 63'_

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?