Mattituck’s Erik McKenna vies for the ball against Babylon on Saturday (Image Credit: Bill Landon)
Slowly but surely, a stunned and disappointed Mattituck boys’ football team left the pitch at Diamond in the Pines in Coram on Saturday night.
The Tuckers had just lost the Class B final in Suffolk County to top seed Babylon 7-6 on penalties after playing goalless for 110 minutes.
What made it even more agonizing was that the Tuckers were close to goal in the second overtime, enjoying a 3-1 shootout lead. They were only one conversion or one Babylon miss away from reaching the championship game in Long Island on Tuesday. The Panthers rallied to win in the ninth round of the tie-break.
“It hurts even more because we had three or four opportunities to close it,” said senior defender Jude Couch. “We couldn’t close the deal, but that happens in PKs. It is never set in stone that you will win. “
Third seed Mattituck (14-3-1) entered the game with a high coming after upsetting Southampton 7-6 on penalties on Thursday No. 2 after playing to a 1-1 draw.
“I wanted to win this more than anything in my entire life,” said Couch. “That would have meant the world. As a senior, as a captain, it would have felt incredible to have our first championship in [seven] Years.”
Head coach Dan O’Sullivan took pride in the team’s fighting spirit.
“We gave everything we had; left everything on the field, ”he said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her. Every single child who played the same way as they did last night. They gave everything they had. When it came to an end and went to the PKs, I was somehow confident because we were there the other night. “
Mattituck’s Shane Clark heads for the ball. (Photo credit: Bill Landon)
After both teams could not solve the opposing goalkeeper – Mattituck’s Garrett Grathwohl and Babylon’s Troy Schipf had saved everything that was kicked or beheaded in their direction – O’Sullivan switched to the net. He brought in the PK specialist Jack Golder. He made one penalty against Southampton and produced two against the Panthers.
After three rounds of penalties, Mattituck took a 3-1 lead. Golder had saved Luca Giammarino’s first attempt and watched Carlos Berrios override his attempt. Kuba Kodym, Jude Couch and Erik McKenna set their goals for the Tuckers and appeared to face Nassau County champions Carle Place in Uniondale on Tuesday. But Nico Giammarino and Kye Castelluccio converted their attempts for Babylon, and Erick Morales and Wesley Secaida missed their PKs when the tie-breaker was tied 3-3 after five rounds.
During the Sudden Period of Death, both teams put their shots down – Luke Couch, Tommy McGunningle and Cris Arreola for the Tuckers and Cole Conboy, Ciaran Stein and Jack Dallafranca for the Panthers. Golder saved Schipf’s attempt, but could not fend off Owen Morris, who turned Babylon’s last attempt in the middle into the game winner. Schipf had two big saves against Brady Dwyer and Sean Szcotka.
“I sympathize with the children,” said O’Sullivan. “I mean, it’s just awful.”
Mattituck had his chances of victory in the two 15-minute sudden death periods. Luke Couch almost fired a long-range shot four minutes and 19 seconds behind in the first OT. He also forced Schipf to parry his hard shot at 12.30 p.m.
With 21 seconds left in play, Babylon’s Lucas Montalto Grathwohl forced a two-handed parade.
“We should have won,” said Kudom, a junior who finished third among Suffolk scorers (22 goals, 10 assists). “We had a lot of chances to win the game. We had a lot of chances in extra time because they were tired. We were physically fit for overtime. “
That it went so far should come as no surprise, because the two teams fought 1-0 in the regular season of League VI, with each team winning once. Mattituck was one of two teams to defeat Babylon (16-2).
“We knew we were good,” said Jude Couch. “We knew we were one of the best teams, if not the best team in this league. I think we surprised a few teams that had some wins in the regular season. It is only [stinks] that we couldn’t win here in order to surprise everyone even more. “
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