Blumberg gets Jericho past E. Hampton
Jericho teammates raise their championship plaque, left to right: Jake Falk, Harrison Reiber, Glenn Hyams and Corey Miller. (Nov. 13, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Michael Blumberg is often asked to mark the opponent's top player as a defensive central midfielder and he had just one goal entering Sunday's game against East Hampton. The Jericho sophomore got involved in the offense and it paid off.
Blumberg scored two goals as Jericho defeated East Hampton, 2-1, in the Long Island Class A/Southeast Regional boys soccer final at Adelphi. Jericho (14-2-2) will play East Syracuse-Minoa in the state semifinals at 4:15 p.m. Saturday at Middletown High School.
"We had to score," Blumberg said. "We couldn't get behind. Glenn Hyams is a great center midfielder and I knew they would be looking at him because everyone does. I had to step up and do something."
Blumberg scored 3:50 into the second half to give Jericho a 1-0 lead. He extended the Jayhawks' lead to 2-0 with 15:58 left.
"After I put that first one in," Blumberg said, "it gave me confidence to get in there and get another one."
About 10 minutes before the second goal, Jericho defender Jack Roberts kicked a ball out before it crossed the line. Milton Farez scored for East Hampton (14-2-2) with 7:35 left and it applied pressure in the final minutes. Ari Lewis made one of his four saves with a dive with 1:15 left for the Jayhawks.
"Our defense is playing great," Lewis said. "We've been on a nice streak in the playoffs."
East Hampton played without Mario Olaya, who has 21 goals and 10 assists, including the winner in the Suffolk Class A final over Sayville. He picked up two yellow cards in the county championship game for excessive celebration for removing his jersey.
"We were a little unhappy Mario didn't get to play for them," Jericho coach Dani Braga said. "We would have liked to win against a full-strength team."
