It seemed the odds were stacked against Massapequa entering Saturday's 2010 Class AA semifinal playoff game. The Chiefs were ranked below their opponents from Great Neck and the underrated Massapequa team had to deal with crowds full of Great Neck fans.
Massapequa played a hard fought match and Great Neck had some early opportunities, but the Chiefs converted the one opportunity that mattered and came away with a 1-0 win at Hofstra.
Led by Hector Lasso, Sam Gold and Jake Goodstein, Great Neck had the offensive edge in the game's early minutes. However, Massapequa's defenders continued to protect their goalkeeper and move the ball back to midfield, interrupting Great Neck's numerous, early attempts to score. Possession of the ball was evenly split between both teams. As the first half wore on, there was little action other than superior effort by Massapequa's Brian Bartichek . Continuing to drive the ball away from the Massapequa goalkeeper and move it downfield, Bartichek was quickly targeted by Great Neck. It appeared several times that opponents were about to start an altercation with Bartichek.
Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Despite continuous efforts to score by both teams, none succeeded. As the first half wore on, the score remained 0 – 0. With 3:49 remaining, a misstep by Great Neck's goalkeeper resulted in him not only missing the ball but also falling forward, unable to regain his balance. But Massapequa players missed this clear opportunity to score as they were overpowered by Goodstein and Great Neck's fullbacks, who quickly regained possession of the ball without taking it out of bounds. The first half ended scoreless.
The second half began much the same way as the first, with both teams continuing to try to move the ball across field to their opponents goal. Efforts by Great Neck's Lasso, the clear crowd favorite, resulted in three firing attempts by Great Neck, all of which were stopped by Massapequa's goalkeeper. With crowd support growing, Massapequa really began to push offensively, and began to make more attempts at scoring. Their efforts did not prove futile, because with 6:40 remaining, Bartichek scored what proved to be the only goal of the night. Rushing near the stands, Massapequa players waved and briefly celebrated.
Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Despite all out attempts by Great Neck to even out the score, their efforts proved to be in vain. As the clock counted down the final seconds of the match, the growing Massapequa fans began to count down aloud, proud to secure their spot in the finals against Farmingdale.
SCORE: 1 – 0 Massapequa
HERO: Brian Bartichek. Clearly the key player on Massapequa's varsity team, and the target of numerous Great Neck attempts to take him out the game, Bartichek scored the lone goal of the night taking Massapequa into the County Championships.
TURNING POINT: 6:40 remaining Massapequa scored the game's only goal.
NOTEWORTHY: The match began almost an hour after the scheduled 7:30 pm start time, as the match between Hicksville and Farmingdale match resulted in penalty kicks, with Farmingdale upsetting Hicksville for the win and advancing to the county finals.
WHAT'S NEXT: Massapequa will advance to the County Championships, against Farmingdale. It will take place at Hofstra University on Wednesday, November 10th at 5 pm.
