Pinto's OT goal a winner for Connetquot

Even Mike Pinto would admit he didn't give it his best shot.

"When I first took it, I just put my head down. I thought he saved it," the Connetquot senior middie said of his one-bouncer that wasn't exactly a rocket but still made an explosive and pinpoint landing.

Pinto took a pass from Craig Kiernan and scored with 57.7 seconds left in overtime Wednesday as Connetquot outlasted host Massapequa, 8-7, in a non-league game at Burns Park.

"I was surprised it went in," said Pinto of the first game-winner of his high school career.

The winning play unfolded spontaneously. "We didn't draw anything up. I saw they were pressing out [on defense] so I went to the cage and saw Mike open," said Kiernan, who scored three first-half goals. "When he first shot it, I thought, 'Oh boy.' But it went in."

In improving to 6-2, the Thunderbirds had to recover from what could have been a demoralizing late goal in regulation. Massapequa (7-2) trailed 7-5 midway through the fourth quarter but cut the deficit to one on Dylan Sheehan's second of the game.

Connetquot goalie Zach Oliveri, who made 15 saves, came up big several times in the closing minutes. But with 21.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Steve Romano made a sensational dodge and beat Oliveri as he was falling to the turf to tie the game.

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"I played with Steve in the summer. He's a great guy," Oliveri said. "He beat the double- team, faked it to the far pipe and just beat me. He deserved that one."

Massapequa goalie Joe Danaher (10 saves) made a huge save with 10.7 seconds left, stopping John Zullo from close range. Zullo committed a penalty early in overtime, giving Massapequa a one-minute extra-man opportunity, but Oliveri turned away a couple of shots to preserve the tie.

He acknowledged he was thinking about the T-Birds' overtime loss to West Islip earlier this season and was determined not to be part of another excruciating loss. "I was a little worried when they had the man advantage," Oliveri said. "It's rough for a goalie in overtime. There's a lot on your shoulders. But our defense played great the whole game. I told the guys, 'Hold them one more time.' Then I watched Mike's shot go in."

Said Connetquot coach Bob Moltisanti Jr., "We know how it feels to be on the other side of a loss like this. Craig found Mike. Great feed, great shot."

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Good enough, at least.