The Varsity Boys Soccer Team travelled to Mineola HS this morning to take on the 2024 Class semi finalist in the 3rd league match of the young season. Thus far, the Mustangs have notched a win and a loss to Valley Stream North and Floral Park and the Owls have registered a draw against each of Valley Stream South and Wantagh. In what always is a competitive environment, Mineola and Lynbrook were set to do battle.

Having failed to register a goal yet this season and playing with out 4 regular players due to the SAT test being administered, the Owls came into the game with a modified line-up on the field and on a mission not to use the missing personnel as an excuse for not playing well.

The players did not disappoint. Lynbrook played a physical first to the ball and full on pressure game that gave the host Mustangs very little room to operate. The game stayed level for much of the first half until the 14th minute of the game when a ball was served into the goal from about 35 yards out to the right. A Mineola Player got a piece of the ball that then immediately hit a Lynbrook defender in the back and took a fortuitous bounce right to a Mineola player who knocked it past Owl’s goal keeper Grayson Prestianni (5 saves). The game went to half 0-1 and the Owls talked in depth about the great half of soccer they played and that a second half filled with the same would intensity would hopefully yield some opportunities.

The second half opened up with the Owls ready to find the equalizer and level the game but the Mustangs proved to have other intentions. Captain Zain Reis took a ball on the right side and made his way up the field into the Lynbrook defensive end. Lynbrook’s Aidan Michaels lost his footing for a moment and Reis took advantage of it. He was able to cross a ball into the goal mouth where Lynbrook failed to clear it out. and the Mustangs knocked it home to take a 0-2 lead.

Down by a pair, the deficit seemed to energize the Owls and they picked up their game and began moving the needle of possession into their favor. They began to generate more offense and were able to put a number of opportunities on frame that required the Mineola goal keeper, Matthew Osorio (8 saves) to come up big. His luck ran out in the final 10 minutes when Lynbrook received a throw-in after Freshman John Esposito was leveled playing a ball on the touch line with no foul called. Lynbrook’s Jake Palay put the ball in play and the the ball into the box where Nick Mignella chested the ball down and Devin Ryan volleyed it into the back of the goal. With under 5 minutes to go, the teams traded opportunities with no success for either squad.

The game ended with the Owls losing 1-2 and the Mustangs gaining the valuable 3 points to move them into second place overall for the season. The Owls sit in 5th place on the table.

Next up for Lynbrook is the defending State Champions, Floral Park HS on Tuesday 9/16 at Floral Park Memorial HS, 5PM kickoff.