A standout on the Brooklyn Knights Under-17 Y-League team, Moncaleano wanted badly to join teammate and fellow Jackson Heights resident Richie Lesmes on the Knights Premier Development…
By Dylan Butler
It was the phone call Carlos Moncaleano had waited for all summer.
A standout on the Brooklyn Knights Under-17 Y-League team, Moncaleano wanted badly to join teammate and fellow Jackson Heights resident Richie Lesmes on the Knights Premier Development League squad.
With Brooklyn having already been eliminated from the playoffs, Knights head coach Dan Fisher thought it was a good idea to give Moncaleano, Daniel Barci, Charlie Jacob and Lesmes — all 17-year-olds — a chance to play with the big boys on a season-ending two-game road trip.
The Knights lost the two games, 2-0 at Cape Cod Friday night and 2-1 at Vermont Saturday, to extend its losing streak to five games. But for the younger players, such as Moncaleano, who was a starting midfielder against Vermont, it was an opportunity of a lifetime.
“I just wanted to get the chance to play at a higher level; it’s what I always wanted,” said Moncaleano, who will be a senior at Long Island City High School. “Since the beginning of the summer I wanted to play with the PDL team, but I didn’t get the chance.”
Of course, making Fisher’s decision much easier was that Brooklyn was out of playoff contention and was missing two key strikers in Knox Cameron and Andre Schmid, who both were called up by the U.S. U-20 national team.
“This was a good opportunity for the younger guys,” Fisher said. “The atmosphere of the PDL is a great experience for younger players. We lacked a lot of experience on the field but they played really well. I wish I could have given them more playing time.”
Of the foursome, Lesmes was the veteran. The season finale in St. Albans, Vt., a small town just six miles from the Canadian border, marked Lesmes’ eighth game with the PDL side.
“Through the way they were asking me questions,” Lesmes said of his U-17 teammates, “I helped guide them before the game like other players did when I first got here.”
Another young player who got a chance to start is goalkeeper Ryan Johnson, who started both games over St. John’s keeper Billy Gaudette, who was the only player on the Knights to play every minute of every game.
After shaking off some nerves against Cape Cod, Johnson, 18, was brilliant against Vermont. The Harvard-bound keeper made five saves, including stopping a pair of point-blank shots by Oliver Occean, who scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute.
“Ryan has played for me for four or five years on a regional team, on an [Olympic Development Program] team and I really respect him,” Fisher said. “He’ll be a very good player in the future and hopefully be one of the top American goaltenders around. This weekend also helped him gain some valuable experience going into his college season.”
The loss to Vermont (14-2-2), which clinched first place in the Northeast Division and will host the Eastern Conference playoffs this weekend, was a microcosm of the Knights disappointing season.
Brooklyn controlled the pace and had the better of the possession but couldn’t get off a quality cross. Defensively, Brooklyn made just a few mistakes, but they came at the worst times and Vermont, a more experienced side, took advantage.
Vermont took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute when playmaker Bo Simic spun away from a defender and played a perfect through ball to striker Geoff Thompson, who raced down the wing and into the box. He beat Johnson low to the far post from 15 yards out.
After falling behind 2-0, Brooklyn cut its deficit in half in the 83rd minute when Vermont goalkeeper Andrew Olivieri fumbled Adam Bruh’s shot from the top of the box and Alex Cuba put the rebound into the net.
“Overall it was a pleasure,” Lesmes said. “The bus rides and the hotels, it was a great atmosphere. Things didn’t work out our way, but that’s the way it is, especially on this level.”
Cape Cod Crusaders 2, Brooklyn Knights 0. Luke Vercollone and St. John’s freshman Chris Corcoran scored a pair of goals eight minutes apart midway through the second half for the host Cape Cod Crusaders, which came away with the victory Friday night at Dennis Yarmouth High School.
New Jersey Stallions 3, New York Freedoms 1. Julio Cesar Dos Santos scored a pair of goals and Rogerio DaSilva added a goal in the 78th minute for the host Stallions Saturday night.
Shalrie Joseph scored the lone goal for the Freedoms (9-6 D3-Pro League Atlantic Division), which takes on the Long Island Rough Riders Saturday night at Mitchel Athletic Complex after hosting the division-leading Stallions in a game played Wednesday night at St. John’s University.
After winning six straight games to open the season, the Freedoms have struggled of late, losing five of their last six matches.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
