The Huntington varsity boys’ soccer team used a pair of late second half goals by Jasson Garay and Carlos Reyes to topple Northport on its home field, 2-0 and win the Suffolk League III championship on Thursday afternoon before a crowd of 250.
It’s only the second outright league title in 30 years for the Huntington boys’ soccer team. The players seemed to know just how special it is, especially considering that few in Suffolk expected the Blue Devils to be this good this fall.
Huntington head coach John Pagano. (Mike Connell photo.)
Huntington took it to Northport early, but the Blue Devils were unable to convert any of the myriad scoring opportunities they had. The Tigers proved to be a very worthy foe throughout the contest with skilled play on both ends of the field. The teams were knotted in a scoreless tie at halftime.
The second half began by playing out much as the first half had, with both teams having chances to score, but neither being able to put the ball in the net. One of Huntington’s shots hit the crossbar. But no one panicked.
When Jasson Garay finally drilled a shot past Northport goalkeeper Joe Kearns, the Blue Devils went into delirium before coaches John Pagano and Jason Suarez reminded their players there was still plenty of game left.
“It was a great feeling,” said Garay about breaking the deadlock. “Once I scored, we took control of the game, which led to the second goal being scored. It feels good to know that we won the league. Now we are pumped and ready to go into playoffs. It doesn’t stop yet.”
The teams continued to go at it before Huntington’s offense mounted another furious attack this time culminating in Carlos Reyes scoring. Brian Contreras and Deybi Jimenez had the assists on the two goals.
The Blue Devil defense and goalie Cole Pillion were once again sensational, shutting down the Tigers high powered offense. For Pillion it marked the senior’s eighth shutout of the fall.
“This has honestly been an amazing experience,” Reyes said. “I started high school soccer winning the league, and now I’m finishing my last year winning another one. But we’re not done yet. There’s still more. We want more.”
When the final horn sounded, the Huntington players mobbed each other at midfield. Following the post-game handshake with Northport, the Blue Devils sprinted toward the bleachers where their fans were waiting. The players spelled out the word “Huntington” letter by letter before repeatedly chanting in unison: “Huntington. Huntington. Huntington.”
It was the seventh consecutive victory for the Blue Devils and 10th in 11 games. Huntington is currently ranked No. 9 in the state in Class AA (large) by the New York State Sportswriters Association.
Blue Devil Notes: Garray leads Huntington in scoring with 15 goals and six assists . . . Pillion recorded five saves in goal . . . Reyes now has six goals and five assists this fall . . . The victory gives Huntington an overall regular season record of 13-2-1 (10-2 in league play). Pagano improved his career record to 163-138-29 in 19 seasons. Only George Hiscox (204-143-2) has more victories as a Blue Devil varsity boys’ soccer coach.
