Conquering Commodores

Tears were shed, injuries sustained, a great victory attained and a heartbreaking loss suffered.
The first meeting between bitter soccer rivals Bayside and Cardozo did not feel like an early-season divisional game. It had more of a playoff pulse to it. Joe Corrado, the Bayside coach, knew why.
“The last time Cardozo beat us was May 9, 2003,” he said. “Their players don’t know what it’s like to beat us, and my players don’t know what it’s like to lose to them. Expectations are always running high. The kids look at the first one as a defining moment in the season.”
That Cardozo returned a strong team, notably center midfielder Francesca Shin, not to mention the addition of freshman center midfielder Ebelyse Guaranda, and Bayside graduated five four-year senior starters, and played without sophomore midfielder Chelsea Cabarcas and sophomore fullback Rebecca Arce, then lost junior midfielder Olga Filakouris to an injury, made the1-0 Bayside victory that much more surprising. The Judges played large portions of the game on the Bayside third of the field, but could not get one past Commodores keeper Nicole Carroll, who made nine saves.
“We’re rivals with Bayside,” the teary-eyed Shin said. “Every year we’re fighting for the Queens division. Last year, they took it and went all the way to the city finals. We’re hoping to take the Queens division this year and go to the finals like they did last year.”
The setback did not necessarily end their chances. The two teams meet twice more, April 16 at Cardozo and May 5 at Bayside, this season.
Senior midfielder Zoe Margulies’ goal, on a set play straight away in the 23rd minute, was set up by a questionable call. Cardozo should only get stronger, led by Shin and Guaranda.
“We don’t judge our performance by the scoreboard,” Cardozo Coach Rich Parascos said. “They know they’re going to have their hands full with us for the rest of the season. The positives I will take away from the game - we know we are one of the elite teams now; we know now we can play with anybody. … You could say Bayside had our number the last couple of years but that is because they were stacked with talent. Now, it is who executes better on any given day.”
Bayside, meanwhile, proved the departure of those five seniors would not change them too much. Junior striker Despina Psomopoulos was all over the field, helping in the back and dominating midfield. Senior captain Seena Sleem, a consistent goal-scorer her first three years, moved to fullback, where the graduation exodus really weakened the Commodores.
At the end of last year, after the Commodores became the first Queens team to reach the PSAL Class A city championship since 1986, Margulies was not sure what to expect this spring. Adjusting to their considerable turnover of personnel, Bayside still does not have the swagger they did last season. Corrado has disciplined the team more than in recent seasons, he said, to get the desired results. However, he saw plenty of resolve in this “gritty” victory.
“One of the best wins I’ve seen in years,” he said.
Added Margulies: “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to be able to win without the kids from last year. We showed we could.”