Huntington Boys’ Soccer in Playoffs at Commack

One year removed from reaching the Section XI championship game, the Huntington boys’ soccer team will travel to Commack on Tuesday for a playoff game at 2 p.m.

The Blue Devils (8-6-2 overall) dropped a 3-0 verdict to Commack (12-1-2) on September 20. Third seeded Commack’s sole defeat came at that hands of Smithtown West, 3-1. The Cougars tied games with Brentwood (0-0) and Northport (1-1).

Huntington’s top scorers include forwards Carlos Gutierrez (7 goals; 2 assists) and Kevin Velez (5g; 3a) and midfield Bryan Lizama (6g; 4a).

The Blue Devils will also rely heavily on twin senior midfielders Ian Husselbeck (1g; 2a) and Kieran Husselbeck (4a) who are extremely versatile and play key roles in every Huntington game.

Defenders Roman Boravica, Yovanni Rivera, Dante Salgado and Jerson Contreras (1g; 2a) will be more important than ever as they try to obstruct Commack’s potent offense.

No. 14 Huntington’s goalie corps includes Dylan Hayden (65 saves), Nick Plachta (nine saves) and Jake Amend.

The Blue Devils have also received offensive contributions this fall from Jose Bonilla (1g), Jonathan Morales (1g), Joe Ramirez (1g; 3a), Justin Villatoro (1g) and Alex Merlos (1g). Enzo Pupillo has a pair of assists. Midfield Orlando Chinchilla has two goals and two assists.

Head coach John Pagano and assistant coach Jason Suarez go into battle at Commack knowing the Blue Devils need to play close to perfect soccer to top the Cougars. Anything’s possible and Huntington has the talent to pull off the upset if the breaks fall its way.