By Dylan Butler
It has been almost a month since Gabe Ortega has been on a soccer field. While the senior midfielder on the Archbishop Molloy boys’ soccer team still isn’t 100 percent, he was healthy enough to make a difference in the Stanners’ 3-0 win over Xavier in the CHSAA ‘A’ quarterfinals Sunday at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point.
Ortega (two assists) picked apart the Xavier defense with some brilliant balls as the Stanners offense looked especially fluid and dangerous.
“The midfield in general played very well,” said Molloy coach Andy Kostel. “They moved the ball very well. It was a very big improvement.”
Molloy advances to the semifinals to face Holy Cross, a team they defeated twice during the regular season.
The grudge match, the first time the rivals met in playoffs since Holy Cross defeated Molloy 2-1 in the 2000 city title match, is the second of a doubleheader at Kings Point. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m.
“It’s a new game, a game we have to play,” Kostel said. “Anyone we play at this level is going to be very good. We have to prepare to play a very good team.”
Ortega picked up his first assist in the 21st minute when he crossed the ball in the box and Patrick Boyle scored on a gorgeous one-touch strike from 12 yards out.
“We haven’t been playing very long together because of injuries, but we meshed well,” Ortega said. “The forwards checked back and moved off the ball nicely and that’s what got us space.”
Molloy (12-3-3) went up 2-0 with 2:54 left in the first half when Jason Murphy settled Rob Sardis’ corner to the far post and slid the ball to Peter Despotopoulos, who tapped the ball into the net from 10 yards out.
The Stanners capped the scoring less than six minutes into the second half when Ortega played a great ball that freed Sardis down the wing. The senior striker beat Xavier keeper Kevin Riley low inside the far post from 16 yards out.
“When you get balls like that, it doesn’t give you much choice but to finish,” Sardis said. “The whole midfield sprayed the ball around nicely.”
St. Francis Prep 1, Monsignor Farrell 0. Even with an extra hour because of Daylight Savings Time, Franco Purificato couldn’t sleep.
Instead, the St. Francis Prep coach searched the Internet early Sunday morning to find out any information he could about Monsignor Farrell, Prep’s opponent in the CHSAA quarterfinals.
What he found out was that Farrell, although known as a perennial powerhouse, was young this year and was not on the same level as previous teams.
While Purificato was nervous, his team was a loose bunch of jokesters as they sat in the stands at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point Sunday, watching rival Molloy defeat Xavier.
But when it was their turn to walk on the turf at Brooks Stadium, the Terriers were all business.
Peter Pavlakos scored eight minutes into the game after getting a rebound off a shot by teammate Mark Martello that was bobbled by Farrell keeper Danil Majewski for the game’s only score.
After an even first half, the Terriers dominated Farrell (9-3-2) in the second half, but they couldn’t finish several scoring chances, including a few point blank rebounds. For the first time in seven years, Farrell will not compete for the city crown.
“The first half was a little shaky, but we do a lot of running in practice,” Pavlakos said. “We’re in shape and that’s why we stepped up, but we should’ve finished more.”
St. Francis Prep (8-2-4) advances to the semifinals to face Regis, 3-0, winners over Iona Prep Saturday at Iona College in New Rochelle. The game is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m., and will be before the All-Queens clash between Holy Cross and Molloy.
“It’s all about respect,” said midfielder Chris Herrera. “All these teams were ranked ahead of us before the season. We’re just showing one step at a time we’re better than people think.”
“I’ve seen some good St. Francis Prep teams go the semifinals and lose,” Purificato said. “I don’t want to be that team. I told them, ‘Let’s go out and write some history.’ ”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
