Jhony Moreira's two goals give Kings Park OT win
Jhony Moreira of Kings Park against Amityville on Wednesday. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
As the ball bounced toward Kings Park junior Jhony Moreira at the top of the 18-yard box in the first overtime period against Amityville Wednesday, he looked up and saw the right side of the goal was uncovered.
He volleyed a shot toward it as the final seconds of the period ticked away. There was a split second of silence as the ball hit the inside of the post as both sidelines waited to see where the ball would end up.
As the ball bounced across the goal line and into the left corner of the net with just six seconds left on the clock, Moreira was already sprinting to the corner flag with glee after sealing Kings Park’s 2-1 road win over Amityville in Suffolk’s League III. It was Moreira’s second goal of the game for Kings Park (10-4), having opened the scoring with 6:08 remaining in the first half.
“I was just so excited to help my team win,” Moreira said. “Especially with the first goal and then coming in to score the second, it’s just a great feeling.”
Kings Park goalie Michael Congro, watching from the opposite side of the field, said he initially thought the shot was going to bounce out.
“It was an incredible shot with his left foot,” Congro said. “I couldn’t ask for any better from him.”
Moreira’s first goal came off some lovely Tiki-taka play for the Kingsmen, as senior Matt Langino found the feet of senior Matt Steinberg. His one-touch layoff set up Moreira for a shot, which took a deflection on its way to the back of the net.
Amityville (7-5-2) responded well, playing much faster in the second half before finding an equalizer through senior Aiden Johnson. He ripped a 20-yard shot into the bottom left corner with 12:36 left in the second half.
Minutes later Johnson nearly scored again after cutting in from the left side of the field, but Congro made a terrific save to deny the chance before punching sophomore Nico Annunziato-Green’s rebounded shot over the net.
“I was just trying to keep the ball out. It was mayhem in there,” Congro said. “I just keep my eyes on the ball and get it out the best that I can.”
Congro finished with eight saves, including two in overtime. With a playoff berth already secured and elimination games beginning on Oct. 27 in Suffolk’s Class A, Moreira knows there’ll be more games like Wednesday’s dogfight coming up.
“We’re here to stay, and we’re going to keep fighting,” Moreira said. “. . . We’re going to go for it all.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
