In first Final Four appearance, Bayside slips up

Bayside averaged over 4.2 goals during the regular season and playoffs. Their three forwards - Seena Sleem, Veronica Leon and Despina Psomopoulos - combined to find the net 44 times. Almost routinely, the speedy triumvirate dribbled through and around defenders, outnumbering the opposing sweeper, and flooding the net with shots.
But the combination of inclement weather and a stout McKee/Staten Island Tech club, proved far too much for the young Commodores to handle.
In their first ever PSAL Class A semifinals appearance they were stymied, 3-1, by the Sea Gulls at a rain-drenched and water-logged Canarsie High School Field in Brooklyn last Thursday, June 8th.
The rain, although not a torrential downpour, hit the tri-state area all day leading up to the battle, severely affecting the Commodores’ freewheeling, speed-merchant attack. By the time of kickoff - shortly before 5:30 p.m. - it became obvious that this PSAL semifinal would be more of a slugfest, a battle of grit, fortitude and physical prowess, than a stylistic showcase.
The game was tied one-all at halftime, but the taller and more physical Sea Gulls were winning the battle at midfield, controlling play as the speedy Commodores struggled with their precise touches and timing.
Whenever Sleem, Psomopoulos or Leon would make a move, there would be two and three defenders to greet them. On every spin, a hand was in their side; on every header, a forearm nudged them.
“They closed them down quickly which is what good defense does, which is what they have,” Bayside Coach Joe Corrado said. “They gave us no time with the ball and having such a slick surface doesn’t help because it’s hard to control your first touch.”
The two teams traded goals in the first six minutes. Genna Pepe scored on a penalty kick following a Commodore handball. Bayside answered when Alex Knese found the net on a free kick from 30 yards out; the shot was aided by the slippery playing surface, the ball skidding off the field turf and deflecting off goalie Dana Rampulla’s right shoulder. Rampulla didn’t handle any of her six saves cleanly, but Bayside failed to get enough cracks at her.
“We didn’t take shots like we should have,” Leon said.
The Seagulls (13-2) went ahead for good in the 44th minute when Pepe finished a cross from her sister, Kara. With five minutes remaining, moments after Knese was stumped from the top of the box by Rampulla, Michelle Tartaglione iced it on a breakaway.
Nevertheless, the Commodores (15-2-1), after winning back-to-back Queens A division titles and advancing farther into the playoffs than ever before, retained optimism from the loss; their entire roster returns with goalkeeper Elizabeth Mardones the lone exception.
“Next year we are going to finals,” Knese predicted.