Wallkill boys blanked in semifinal

By Mike Zummo
Posted 11/3/21

Three days after they advanced with a thrilling penalty kick victory to advance in the Section 9 Class A tournament, the Wallkill boys’ soccer team found themselves without their starting …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Wallkill boys blanked in semifinal

Posted

Three days after they advanced with a thrilling penalty kick victory to advance in the Section 9 Class A tournament, the Wallkill boys’ soccer team found themselves without their starting goalkeeper and striker due to injury.

Down two players, the fourth-seeded Panthers saw their season end by a 2-0 loss to the top-seeded Beacon Bulldogs on Wednesday night in the semifinals.

“I thought they played their hardest,” Wallkill coach Christopher Valencia said. “Beacon is a very solid team. They have their tactics down pat, and they don’t really make very many mistakes. It was a very well-rounded team, and I don’t think we’ve seen this caliber of team yet.”

The Bulldogs got on the board first as a shot by Chase Green rolled box from the left side and just inside the far post just seven minutes into the game. Then with about four minutes to go in the first half Miguel Ruiz blasted a shot just inside the right post to give the Bulldogs their two-goal lead.

Despite the two goals, Wallkill goalkeeper Anthony Annacone, filling in for the injured Luke Diemoz, kept the Panthers in the game and held the Bulldogs’ offense scoreless for the rest of the game while the offense attempted to get something going.

“I think he did a very good job,” Valencia said. “I thought he was very impressive. He’s very sensitive at times, so I try not to deliver the message in a negative way. But sometimes I have to shout, and I don’t want him to ever think that he’s doing something wrong. I just want to make sure he can hear me.”

The Panthers got off to a slow start this season and two key divisional ties and an Oct. 7 loss to FDR, which denied them a trip to the Mid Hudson Athletic League semifinals. However, since tying the Huguenots on Sept. 21, the Panthers won 9 out of 10 games, heading into Wednesday’s game.

That, however, does not remove the sting of their season-ending loss.

“I told them that there is nothing I can say that is going to ease the sentiment of losing, but it just shows them and it shows me that they really care, and to make sure that they don’t leave anybody sitting down crying by themselves,” Valencia said.

The Panthers will look to rebound next season and replace the loss of eight seniors, including Diemoz and two of their senior captains Julian Gries and Dominic Pelella. The Panthers also will lose Brandon Ortiz, Trevor Jones, Anthony Caravalho, Cristo Trujillo and Salvatore Bordone.

Junior captain Erick Vargas will lead a group of returning players that will have big shoes to fill next season.

“(I hope they take) that anything’s achievable if you put your mind to it,” Valencia said. “They need to work hard in the offseason and be ready to go as soon as August hits.”