By Dylan Butler
It appeared the Knights were no longer invincible. They saw their 25-game league winning streak snapped by Archbishop Molloy. And three days later, the Stanners prevailed again, going onto an undefeated league slate and the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan title.
But on Monday in the CHSAA city championship game, Holy Cross proved they were the elite team in the borough and the city, defeating Molloy, 2-1, at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.
“We played very well all season, played some great teams, but we had one bad week,” Gilvary said. “And it just so happened we played Molloy twice that week. But I told the team all along, it is difficult to beat a championship team in an elimination game. I knew our kids would be hard to beat.”
It was the Knights fourth city title in the last eight years and the first since 1995 when Holy Cross won their third consecutive crown.
“We lost in the city championship to Farrell twice,” said senior defender Marcial Alzugaray. “The goal in the beginning of the year was to win the city championship.”
Alzugaray was the center of a rock-solid Holy Cross defense that was faced with intense pressure throughout most of the second half. Trailing 2-1, the Stanners pushed its numbers forward, desperately trying to net the equalizer. But Alzugaray, Paolo Acquista and Michael Higgins did a great job defensively as junior keeper Robert Lehman went largely untested.
“Talk about playing to win,” Gilvary said. “They pushed so many guys forward that we had to bring guys back. But we were pretty much on them [when they pushed forward]. We didn't panic and kept our composure.”
Meanwhile, the Stanners defense, which was so strong during the regular season, made two errors in the first half and Holy Cross (16-4-1) capitalized.
In the 19th minute, Tamer Mohamed settled a ball on the far side of the box and dished to Anthony Cicero, who beat Molloy keeper James Papazis low inside the far post from 15 yards out to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
“We've been going through crosses in practice and all day in practice coach was telling me to stay wide and I would get it,” Cicero said. “And the first time I got the chance, I scored.”
The Stanners came right back though and tied the game two minutes later when Shawn Edwards ran onto a loose ball and scored low to Lehman's right from 10 yards out.
In the 34th minute, the Stanners second defensive miscue proved extremely costly. A through ball by Jiva Milenovici from the far sideline found Jimmy Theodoropoulos open at the top of the box. The senior forward ran through the box untouched and chipped the ball into the net from 5 yards out to give Holy Cross a 2-1 lead.
“Their two goals were basically mix-ups,” said Molloy head coach Andy Kostel. “We knew Jimmy is a goal scorer and he shouldn't have been left alone. And the first goal was on a cross and we need to make sure everyone is covered.”
After a first half that was dominated by Holy Cross, it was Molloy (16-4-1) that took the play to the Knights in the second half. Most of the second half resembled a hockey power play, with much of the play reserved for the Knights third of the field. But the closest the Stanners could get was a free kick from 16 yards out in the 77th minute, but Lehman easily gobbled the ball up at the near post.
“Their defense held up well,” Kostel said. “We wanted to do certain things, like work the ball wide more. A bounce here or there and the game could have changed. They were two very evenly matched teams.”
While the season ended abruptly for Molloy, Holy Cross advances to the state semifinals to take on Chaminade, a rematch of last year's state title game won by the Knights, on Friday at the Long Island Soccer Park in Plainview, L.I. The state final is slated for Sunday at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
“It's hard to think about that right now,” Gilvary said. “We can enjoy this tonight and I guess it's back to work tomorrow.”
Monsignor McClancy 2, St. Joseph's by the Sea 1. Chris Megaloudis broke a scoreless tie in the first half and Adam Brunengo scored the game-winner with five minutes remaining in regulation to catapult the Crusaders into the CHSAA Class B championship.
Holy Cross 2, Monsignor Farrell 1 (OT). The Knights unseated three-time defending CHSAA city champs Monsignor Farrell Sunday, winning 2-0 on penalty kicks after regulation and two overtimes produced a 1-1 tie.
Farrell missed its first four penalty kicks, while Cross got goals from Tamer Mohamed and Rob McKeon to ice the victory. Rob Lehman recorded the shutout for the Knights, which advanced to the finals to take on Molloy.
Archbishop Molloy 1, St. Francis Prep 0. Dylon Howell scored for Molloy with 20 minutes remaining in the game to propel the Stanners into the championship game Sunday. Daniel Torres nearly gave St. Francis Prep the lead in the first half when his shot ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced just in front of the goal line. Prep finishes the season 7-6.
“That's how close the season was all year for the boys at St. Francis,” said Prep coach Bill Turner, adding that the team got stronger as the year went on. “They never quit.”
Monsignor McClancy 3, LaSalle 1. Chris Megaloudis scored twice and Adrian Cavallero scored one for McClancy, which took a 1-0 lead 15 minutes into the game on Megaloudis' first goal. The Explorers tied the game 10 minutes into the second half, but Megaloudis scored again at the midway point of the second half to put the Crusaders up for good.
St. Joseph's by the Sea 5, St. John's Prep 1. Colm Dillon scored for the Red Storm in this quarterfinal match-up, which saw St. Joe's advance to play McClancy in the semifinals.
Salesian 3, Cathedral Prep 2 (OT). Pat Higgins' Crusaders were eliminated from the playoffs last week, despite goals from Bryan Vega and Brendan Raphael.
Holy Cross 2, Archbishop Stepinac 0. Jimmy Theodoropoulos and Alessandro Acquista scored for the Knights, while Rob Lehman recorded the shutout with six saves in quarterfinals.
St. Francis Prep 1, Iona Prep 0 (OT). Antonio Lamato, Anthony Belo, Rolando Rojas and Daniel Torres all scored on penalty kicks for St. Francis, which received a standout performance from goal Anthony Iocco in the quarterfinals.
Archbishop Molloy 2, Fordham Prep 0. The Stanners defeated the team that eliminated them from the playoffs a year ago last Wednesday in the quarterfinals. James Jordan and Robert Sardis scored in overtime.
– Anthony Bosco contributed to this story
