St. Anthony's defeats Regis for first CHSAA state crown since 2019
St. Anthony's celebrates is victory over Regis in the CHSAA state boys soccer final at St. John's on Sunday. Credit: Anna Sergeeva
St. Anthony’s boys soccer coach Don Corrao thought the moment was a bad omen.
With the score tied through four penalty kicks, Regis’ fifth attempt flew over the net and out of Belson Stadium at St. John’s University. With no extra ball to be found, a seemingly endless wait occurred before the Friars’ final shot. Corrao wondered if the lull happened for a reason.
Finally, the official placed the ball at the penalty spot. Nicky Galindo accelerated, stutter-stepped, then fired a shot into the right side of the net. Galindo’s goal gave the Friars the deciding 5-4 penalty-kick advantage over Regis and the CHSAA state title Sunday after the score was knotted at 1 following two overtimes.
“The kid had ice in his veins and just stepped up, that little stutter, and wins the game,” Corrao said. “Seeing him run off to the side and celebrating, it was worth the whole [wait].”
St. Anthony’s (19-5) won its first state crown since 2019 and its sixth in program history.
John Oualaalou put the Friars on the board first about five minutes into the second half, and Regis’ Kieran Denhoy evened the score about 20 minutes later to force overtime.
St. Anthony’s shot second in penalty kicks, and Oualaalou, Aristeo Aniceto, Justin Ramirez, Dean Muratore and Galindo each scored to complete the perfect round.
St. Anthony’s defeated St. Joseph’s Collegiate (Buffalo) in the state semifinals Friday to play for the title, avenging a loss to the Marauders in the 2022 state final.
The Friars were 6-5 through 11 games this season, prompting a team meeting where Corrao emphasized all their goals were still ahead of them.
“[The coaches] told us that we had the potential to win, we had the players to win, we just weren’t performing on the field,” Oualaalou said.
St. Anthony’s won 13 straight games thereafter, scoring 53 goals and giving up just five behind goalie Cole Lawrence.
The Friars overcame multiple injuries, including their senior co-captains. Oualaalou missed nine regular-season games with a concussion, and defender Joe Joannou suffered a knee injury in the CHSAA league semifinals that kept him out of the state tournament.
“What made it different this year is we all played for each other,” Joannou said. “Like when I went down, I knew they all had my back. They had [my] No. 2 on the wrist, they played for me.”
“This is a special group of kids,” Corrao added. “... They bought, and drank, all the Kool-Aid that was coming out of the coaches’ mouths. [I] just couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
