Head coach Dan O’Sullivan could not have asked anything more of his Mattituck boys soccer team on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite missing multiple players who were under school suspension, the Tuckers went toe-to-toe with arch rival and host Center Moriches in the Suffolk County Class B semifinals before suffering a heart-breaking 1-0 loss on a late penalty kick.
“It’s just devastating for these guys,” O’Sullivan said. “These guys, the heart that they showed today, they just left everything on the field. I just feel so bad for them.”
Aidan Jones’ penalty kick with 4 minutes and 33 seconds remaining lifted the No. 2 Red Devils (13-4) into Saturday’s Class B final in Coram. They will meet the winner of Wednesday night’s semifinal between top-seeded Babylon and fourth-seeded Southampton.
Third-seeded Mattituck (11-5-1) came close to pulling off a miracle.
“It’s been a long week,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s been a lot going on this week. Things going on outside of our control. [Assistant coach] Raf Morais has just been incredible. The two of us, when we’re on the field, we try to teach them this is us. We’re a family no matter what happens off the field. When you step foot on our field you’re family and just bring everything you got. I couldn’t be more proud of how these guys worked today.”
The Tuckers’ roster was decimated. Neither O’Sullivan nor athletic director Gregg Wormuth would say how many players and why they were suspended or identify them.
Comparing an early season roster to Wednesday’s, six players were missing, all of whom have been key contributors.
“We played hard,” Wormuth said. “We put our team together. We did the best we could. These guys who came out should be commended for their efforts and be real proud of what they did today.”
The players were.
“I take a look back on the season, I see all these kids that are giving it everything they had,” said junior goalkeeper Jack Golder, who made 11 saves. “Today just kind of was the icing on the cake for every single person out there. We have kids who can’t walk after this game, kept cramping up in the [postgame] huddle. These kids love the sport so much that we play for each other. I cannot be more proud of these guys and I wouldn’t want to play with anyone else.”
Added senior defender Sean Lawson, “We all played together, give it our all. I couldn’t ask for a better coach, coaches, better team.”
Both teams gave it their all, continuing a fierce rivalry that dates back 86 years to 1936.
“It was a typical Mattituck-Center Moriches war,” Center Moriches coach Chris O’Brien said. “We’re lucky to come out on top.”
It was an evenly played affair that at times was a high-paced chess match until the Red Devils started to wear down Mattituck. They forced Golder to make several saves down the stretch, including a two-handed block of Beau Davidson’s shot with 7:36 remaining after defender Kaden Kahn cleared Liudvik Golovin’s shot off the line with 11:24 left.
In the 76th minute, Lawson was called for handball in box, and the hosts were awarded a penalty.
“I let my team down,” a tearful Lawson said afterward.
Jones drilled his shot to the upper right side while Golder dove in the opposite direction.
Golder, who had stopped two of three penalties this season, liked his chances. “I was really excited to finally get my moment in this game, but he hit it hard and I guessed wrong,” he said.
O’Sullivan brought up three freshmen junior varsity players who saw their first varsity action — Anthony Soto, Corey Dickerson and Christian Kretschmer.
“JV kids never touched the varsity field playing [before]. One of them [Soto] almost played every minute,” O’Sullivan said. “I just can’t ask for more. I don’t usually get emotional. I’m sitting on the sideline watching, knowing how much these guys put their heart and soul in every minute of this game.”
Center Moriches was forced to play without two key players. Regular goalkeeper Tyler Stewart sat out a red-card suspension and senior co-captain Liam McDermott was injured. The Tuckers tried to test freshman keeper Hunter Bernhard (three saves) but could not solve him.
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