NYPost.com PSAL boys soccer beat writer Zach Braziller breaks down Thursday’s PSAL Class A semifinals at noon on Randall’s Island.
SCHEDULE
12 p.m. – No. 1 Martin Luther King Jr. vs. No. 4 Beacon
12 p.m. – No. 2 Francis Lewis vs. No. 3 Tottenville
No. 1 Martin Luther King Jr. Knights
Head coach: Martin Jacobson
Record: 15-1-0, Manhattan A
Player to watch: Moriken Sangary
How they got there: Defeated No. 16 Fort Hamilton, 5-0, in second round and No. 8 Curtis, 2-1, in quarterfinals.
No. 4 Beacon Blue Demons
Head coach: Alec Mahrer
Record: 14-2-1, Manhattan A
Damion Reid
No. 2 Francis Lewis goalkeeper Chris Herrera hopes to lead the Patriots back to the PSAL Class A title game.
Damion Reid
No. 1 Martin Luther King Jr.'s Ibrahim Diaby will return against No. 4 Beacon on Thursday.
Player to watch: Joe Nikic
How they got there: Defeated No. 13 Cardozo, 1-0, in second round and No. 5 John Adams, 3-2, in quarterfinals.
Outlook: Martin Luther King Jr. and Beacon in the semifinals. Enough said. The premier rivalry in the PSAL, arguably in any sport, resumes tomorrow. The last time the two met in the playoffs was the 2008 final, won by King, 2-0. MLK is in the semifinals for the 16th straight year, Beacon seven seasons in a row.
MLK has owned the rivalry since then, winning five straight matches, including two during the regular season, by a combined 5-1 score. Beacon played the Knights well, but was unable to play a full 80 minutes of soccer. The Blue Demons got off to a slow start in the first meeting and never recovered. They were without stalwarts Jesse White and Peter Poulos in the second matchup. Poulos has since moved back to Long Island, but White will be ready to go this time.
In Poulos’ absence, Nikic has emerged, notching a hat trick in a dramatic 3-2 win over No. 5 Adams in the quarterfinals. The senior striker has help up front, from skilled midfielders Walker Latham, Ryan Cupolo, Luca Quinn and Reza Malek.
“Other people when we went down were screaming a little bit, but Joey really kept his composure and he keeps everyone else calm around him,” Mahrer said. “He was very focused on what he had needed to do.”
King survived a surprisingly stiff test from No. 8 Curtis in the quarterfinals, finding itself a goal down 30 minutes from full time. Sangary, the city’s leading goal scorer with 33 tallies during the regular season, made sure it didn’t last, setting up freshman Jethro Dede and scoring his third goal of the playoffs.
"I was like, 'If I get a chance, I'm going to put it away. If I don't get a chance, I'm going to make an assist,’” Sangary said.
The Knights will now get back striker Tarek Beckles and midfielder Ibrahaim Diaby, the talented duo who sat out the first two matches of the postseason after they were issued red cards in the regular-season finale.
Nypost.com
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