Sports
Boys Soccer: Massapequa 2011 Preview
The Chiefs defeated Farmingdale for the County title in 2010 but lost Long Island title game.
The Massapequa Boys Soccer team earned the right to call themselves Nassau County champions in 2010 with a defeat of rival Farmingdale in penalty kicks. With high hopes, the Chiefs took on a dominant Brentwood team for the Long Island title, but fell in a high-scoring 5-3 result.
“I think we have history and experience on our side,” coach Keith Stanley said. “People who come to Massapequa have an expectation of themselves and of the club and of the group to do well, so that helps us.”
Closing out the season with a 12-3-2 overall record, Massapequa had a great deal to be proud of. With the 2011 season here, the team is looking for newer and bigger goals with 12 seniors returning to the roster.
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Last Season: 12-3-2 overall; won Nassau County Class AA championship
Coach: Keith Stanley
Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Top Players:
- Dakota Barnathan, senior, midfield
- Bobby Fogelson, senior, midfield
- Connor Nealis, senior, midfield
- Sean Vinberg, senior, defense
- Jeremy Baldwin, senior, defense
- Evan Perrino, junior, goalkeeper
Position Breakdown: Massapequa will look to replace a talented graduating class from last years’ team, including a trio of All-County players in Brian Bartichek, Nick Fetzer and goalkeeper Sean Brailey.
Senior midfielder Dakota Barnathan will look to lead a talented team this season up front. He will play alongside senior Bobby Fogelson and Connor Nealis.
“We have to take it one game at a time for now,” Barnathan said. “We can’t just expect to be in the playoffs like we were last year. We just have to keep going forward and keep moving.”
A pair of seniors in Sean Vinberg and Jeremy Baldwin will bolster a strong defensive back line for the Chiefs.
“We are looking to go far into the playoffs because we have an experienced group and have a lot of young kids who are up-and-coming,” Baldwin said. “We’ve been working on finishing a lot. Now were looking to push forward a lot more and work it out from the back.”
Looking to replace Brailey for this year will be up-and-coming junior goalkeeper Evan Perrino.
Expectations: Massapequa will play out of Class AA-I this season with top competition figuring to be Farmingdale, Uniondale, Syosset and Oceanside. They will also play two non-league games against Kellenberg and St. John the Baptist.
With about half of the roster returning as seniors, the Chiefs are confident to once again reach the Nassau County finals, along with winning the Long Island championship.
“We know what we need to do to get back there,” Barnathan said. “There are a lot of kids from the team last year that are retuning seniors now and have kids who have experience with outside club team.”
This team has talks and aspirations of playing in the New York State tournament, and with the experience and tradition under their belts, 2011 could very well be the year the Chiefs earn that right.
“I expect to work hard and give every team we play some trouble,” Stanley said.
Key Games:
- Sept. 9: Kellenberg @ Massapequa, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 19: Massapequa @ Uniondale, 4:30 p.m.
- Sept. 23: Farmingdale @ Massapequa, 4:15 p.m.
- Oct. 4: Syosset @ Massapequa, 4:15 p.m.
- Oct. 12: Uniondale @ Massapequa, 4:30 p.m.
- Oct. 18: Massapequa @ Farmingdale, 4:15 p.m.
- Oct. 25: Massapequa @ Syosset, 4:15 p.m.
