Aldaz's goal wins Class B soccer title for Mattituck
Mattituck's Shawn Smiley, right, celebrates scoring his goal with his teammates in the Suffolk high school boys soccer Class B final against Wheatley. (Nov. 10, 2010) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Given a little freedom, Andres Aldaz took some liberty.
Aldaz usually patrols the middle of the field for Mattituck, but coach Matt Litchhult urged him in practice this week to freelance a little more and roam to open spaces. Midway through the second half, that strategy paid off.
Aldaz wandered down the right side, took a perfect through ball from David Burkhardt and drilled a hard shot to the far post. That held up as the game-winner in the Tuckers' 3-2 victory over Wheatley last night in the Long Island Class B boys soccer championship at Diamond in the Pines in Coram.
"I usually play in the center of the field, but that time I was roaming to the right, trying to find some open space," said Aldaz, who assisted on Mattituck's first goal. "It was a great pass. I had a defender on my left side, so I knew I couldn't take much time. I tried for the far post because that worked in my last game."
It worked again for Mattituck (16-2-1), which last won the LIC in 2007. "He had pressure and he just smashed it," Litchhult said.
It didn't appear the Tuckers would need such second-half drama. They led at halftime 2-0 on goals by Kevin Reyer and Shawn Smiley. But Wheatley controlled play for much of the second 40 minutes. The Wildcats struck quickly after intermission when Oliver Parizat scored on a nice cross by Charley Cooper in the fifth minute.
Wheatley tied it at 2 in the 17th minute when Jake Butwin converted Landon Baker's pass. The Wildcats, who outshot the Tuckers 18-12, were getting the better of play.
Until Burkhardt found Aldaz.
"It was a perfect one-touch pass," Litchhult said.
There were still almost 20 minutes left for the Wildcats to get even. But Cody Huntley (seven saves) made a spectacular save with 4:41 left on Alex Butwin's shot from the right wing.
Huntley got help from fullback Matt Waggoner, who made some diving stops despite fighting through injuries. "A couple of times I thought, 'Oh, man, they're going to score,'" Litchhult said. "And then Matt just threw his body at the ball."
Said Waggoner: "I do whatever I can to save a goal."
Waggoner had a good view of Aldaz's deciding goal.
"As soon as I saw him with the ball," Waggoner said, "I knew he would score. He's so clutch."
