By Dylan Butler
Through 14 games this season, Laura Burlacu has carried the Newcomers girls soccer team on her shoulders. But last Thursday at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, that weight became too heavy for the native of Romania, as Susan Wagner defeated the Lions, 5-2, in a first round PSAL playoff game.
The match took its toll on Burlacu, arguably the best player in Queens. She had a headache from a collision in the air, cramps in her calves from constantly running the length of the field and there were mud cakes on her shins after she slipped several times to the turf, which was still damp from two days of soaking rain.
“I think we could have beat them, but we needed the offense to be stronger,” Burlacu said. “I got a little bit frustrated.”
Wagner coach Carleen Rago could sympathize. For the first half of her storied high school career, Rago was the Burlacu at New Dorp. She scored 122 goals in four years, most of the time doing so as a one-girl team, leading New Dorp to three city titles.
“I never expected her to have ball handling skills like that, she is a magnificent ball handler,” Rago said. “But I knew it would be hard for one to go through 11. I know how she feels.”
Luckily for Rago, she has a bit more support, as a coach then as a player. While many times Burlacu was left trying to dribble through several Falcons players, Rago had several players to get the Wagner offense going.
Orchestrating the offense was midfielder Cristina Fulgencio, who created opportunities as soon as the ball touched her foot. She assisted on all five goals.
“When I see her with the ball, I know to run wide and she’ll feed me the ball and I’ll have an opportunity to score,” said sophomore forward Carinne Fassari, who scored three goals, all from Fulgencio passes.
The Fulgencio-Fassari connection scored just three minutes into the game, as Fulgencio pushed the ball to Fassari, who found space down the right wing and beat Newcomers keeper Vanessa Fondeur low inside the near post to put Wagner (9-6) ahead, 1-0.
Newcomers (11-4) controlled the next 15 minutes, but the Falcons struck again on a counter attack, as Fulgencio again led Fassari into the box as the sophomore forward chipped the ball off Fondeur’s hands and into the upper left corner of the net to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead in the 20th minute.
“Once [Fulgencio] gets the ball, she knows what to do,” Rago said. “She’s a playmaker, the quarterback on the soccer field. They knew what to do. For once, I didn't have to yell.”
A defensive mistake allowed the Lions to get within one goal in the 35th minute, as Wagner keeper Jennifer Miller flubbed a clearance attempt. Burlacu stole the ball by the far sideline and booted it past Miller, who was scampering back into position and into the net from 35 yards out.
But as soon as Newcomers had a glimmer of hope, Fulgencio helped to snuff it away as she passed the ball from the midfield circle to forward Danielle Narwick who put the ball past Fondeur three minutes later to give Wagner a 3-1 lead going into the break.
“After I scored, we felt we could do it, but then they came back again and scored,” Burlacu said. “And I got frustrated again.”
Four minutes into the second half, Burlacu again displayed her magic, this time knocking the ball over the top of the Wagner defense to an open Beata Borowik, who slipped the ball past Miller, who came off her line, to again cut the Falcons lead to one-goal.
But less than a minute later, Wagner delivered the backbreaker as Narwick corralled Fulgencio's free kick inside the box and knocked the ball off the crossbar and in as the Falcons again took a two-goal lead and silenced the large and boisterous Newcomers supporters.
Fassari capped the scoring with her third goal of the game in the 65th minute as she slid to poke home a Fulgencio cross.
“They matched us goal for goal, I have to give them credit,” said first-year Newcomers coach Elizabeth Schuellein. “They had about two Lauras. But I’m proud of my girls, we did the best we could.”
Jamaica 1, Jefferson 0. Jesse Cerna scored the game's lone goal midway through the second half to give the Beavers (11-6) a road win as Jamaica advances to the second round of the playoffs for a second straight year. The Beavers, who are the No. 16 seed, will face top-seeded Tottenville in a game scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Forest Hills 5, Leon Goldstein 2. Ana Borges had two goals and Stefanie Feliciano, Angela Arboleda and Katherine Shea each added a goal apiece to lead the Rangers (12-8), who fell Friday to Staten Island/McKee Tech, 8-1.
Bayside 3, LaGuardia 1. Emily Andricosky had two goals and Kerry Graham added another for Bayside (12-3-1), which advances to the second round of the playoffs as the No. 11 seed and will play sixth seeded Midwood Wednesday.
Bryant 4, Fort Hamilton 1. Diana Botero had a hat trick and Melissa Lam had one goal and three assists for the Owls (14-3-1). No. 14 Bryant heads to third-seeded Stuyvesant in a game scheduled for Tuesday.
Other second round games include: No. 4 Cardozo hosts 13th-seeded JFK Tuesday, No. 9 Beacon heads to eighth-seeded Newtown Tuesday and No. 7 Townsend Harris hosts No. 10 Wagner at Flushing Meadows Park Wednesday. The quarterfinals are Friday at Wagner and Canarsie while the semifinals are June 5 at Midwood. The PSAL finals are June 7 at St. John’s University at 7 p.m.
