Boys Soccer

Front row, from left. Greg Dini (Sayville), Matt Hayes (Mattituck), John Mulhern (Smithtown), Sal Caccavale (West Islip). Middle row, from left. Sergio Saccoccio (Sachem), Peter Classi (Valley Stream South), Adam Bruh (Wheatley), Alex Aramanda (Chaminade). Back row, from left. Suffolk Coach of the Year Tom Bouklas (St. John the Baptist), Will Hall (St. John the Baptist), Matt Brown (East Islip), Adam Klein (Center Moriches), Chris Kearney (Cold Spring Harbor), Matt Avellino (Calhoun) Nassau Coach of the Year Jim Cantley (Calhoun). (Newsday / Dick Kraus)

A look at the boys soccer players who stood out on Long Island high school varsity squads in the fall of 2001, as Newsday presents its first-ever All-Long Island boys soccer team.

MATT AVELLINO
Calhoun, Midfielder, Junior
Calhouns main offensive threat, Avellino spent his season fighting off double- and triple-teams, and the occasional elbow or jersey-grab. Even so, the 5-6, 140 pound midfielder racked up 20 goals and 15 assists, giving him a hand in 73 percent of Calhouns 48 goals. A three-year starter and two-year captain, Avellino led Calhoun to the teams first Nassau Class A championship since 1975.

ALEC ARAMANDA
Chaminade, Goalkeeper, Senior
Early in the season, Aramanda distinguished himself by leading Chaminade to a victory over nationally-ranked Martin Luther King (Manhattan), making three saves that were as good as goals. He went on to log six shutouts as Chaminade finished second in the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA with a 15-2-1 record. He makes the saves that goalkeepers are supposed to make, and he comes up with the saves that most keepers dont make, the ones that win games, Chaminade coach Mike Gallagher said.

MATT BROWN
East Islip, Forward, Senior
Selecting a player from East Islips well-balanced team was difficult, but Brown distinguished himself with 11 goals and 19 assists heading into last weekends state Class A tournament. In the three years Brown has played varsity, East Islip has a 51-7-1 record. This season, Brown recovered from a broken hip to captain the team to a 16-2 record that included the Long Island Class A title and trip to the state final four in Bath.

ADAM BRUH
Wheatley, Forward, Senior
Last season, Bruh broke Wheatleys scoring record with 26 goals. This season, he has done himself one better with 27 goals heading into last weekends state Class B final four playoff games. The four-year starter made the All-Nassau team three years in a row, the All-State team twice, and was voted his teams most valuable player in 1999 and 2000. Bruh recently committed to the University of Michigan.

SAL CACCAVALE
West Islip, Midfielder, Junior
With 18 goals and eight assists, Caccavale had a hand in all but 10 of West Islips 36 goals this season. More importantly, he scored when it counted, with the game-winner in seven of the teams nine league wins. Caccavale earned All-Conference honors in 2000 and 2001 and was All-Suffolk in 2001.

PETER CLASSI
Valley Stream South, Defender, Senior
Last year, Classi made the All-Nassau team as a forward. This year, he did it again as a sweeper on the team that finished as Nassau Class B runner-up to Wheatley. The four-year varsity player captained the Valley Stream South team and the Empire State team for two years.

GREG DINI