By Dylan Butler
And what a goal it was as the Bosnian netted the game-winner for the Lions in a 2-1 penalty kick win over Dewitt Clinton High School in a PSAL 'A' division wild card game.
Newcomers, which beat Clinton, 5-4 in the penalty kick round, advanced to the first round of the playoffs to take on Wingate in a game scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
“I was a bit nervous because I was taking the last one,” Prasovic said. “I looked at the goal and I just kicked it to [right] side.”
Newcomers, in just its third season of competitive PSAL play, advanced to the playoffs for the first time. And, according to first-year head coach Louis Llull, that is what makes the win over Clinton even more special.
“I'm very pleased, I'm so happy we made it,” Llull said. “We worked so hard to get here.”
After a scoreless first half that saw Newcomers get the better of the possession, the Lions got on the board first four minutes into the second half. Midfielder Caio Silva dribbled past a defender 30 yards from goal and found space as he ran to the top of the box. Silva's shot beat Clinton junior keeper Salvador Martinez low inside the far post to put Newcomers ahead, 1-0.
“I took the ball in the middle and I saw an opening,” the Brazilian said. “I went straight to goal and saw the keeper come out a little and I just kicked the ball in.”
Newcomers (8-5-2) dominated for 20 minutes of the second half before Clinton tied the score on only its second good chance of the game. Clinton's best player, junior midfielder Jose Ramirez, lifted a pass to an open Jonathan Zavala on the far wing. The sophomore beat Newcomers senior keeper Michael Zajac low to the near post to the tie the score at 1 in the 62nd minute.
After the goal, Clinton started to gain momentum and pinned the Lions deep in their zone for a good portion of the final 18 minutes of the second half. Their best chance come in the 68th minute when junior Fideirs Amoako's point blank shot was kicked away by Zavala.
Zavala actually started the penalty kick round by taking Newcomers' first shot. The native of Poland beat Martinez into the upper right corner of the net to get things going for the Lions.
Teammates Ibardo Zambrano, Michael Michel and Silva followed suit by putting the ball in the net. However, Clinton's Andre Clarke, Alfredo Sierra and Ramirez also scored, each beating Zajac high to the keeper's right.
But when Clinton's Jonathan Guity stepped to the spot with the penalty kick round tied at 4, Zajac noticed something right away.
“He was looking at the left side of the net,” he said. “I knew that he would then kick it to the right.”
Zajac guessed correctly, diving to his left to stop the penalty and set up Prasovic with the chance to score the game-winner.
“He's our main man this year,” Llull said of Zajac. “He's solid mentally and physically. He's ready to play 100 percent of the time in practices and games. He really has showed a lot of maturity. He's going to go far.”
Springfield Gardens 3, Brooklyn Tech 1. Damion Chambers, Antonio McLean and Teah Jackson scored for the Golden Eagles in the PSAL 'B' division play-in game Monday. Springfield advances to the first round to face Art & Design in a game scheduled for Tuesday.
Lehman 5, Hillcrest 2. Lehman advanced to take on John Jay in the first round in a game scheduled for Tuesday.
