East Meadow boys soccer's Colin Smith, Matthew O'Leary score in shutout win over Baldwin

The race for the final seeds in Nassau’s Class AAA boys soccer playoffs is razor thin, something East Meadow senior team captain Matthew O’Leary is keenly aware of.

Westbury entered Wednesday with 11 points and the No. 8 seed. Six teams sit within three points, including East Meadow and Baldwin.

So, it wasn’t surprising that the match between the Jets and Bruins carried a playoff-like intensity. When the buzzer sounded at Baldwin High School, East Meadow earned the three points it needed as it topped Baldwin, 2-0, Wednesday afternoon.

“There’s about four or five teams between us that can push for those No. 6, 7, 8 playoff spots,” O’Leary said. “We have five games left. We know what we have to do.”

Senior captain Kevin Cruz helped open the scoring along the left wing, beating two defenders as he cut inside to take a shot on goal. Baldwin goalkeeper Jelani Jean-Francois saved the shot, but East Meadow’s Colin Smith crashed the rebound and scored in the 34th minute.

“We kept emphasizing, get to the net, get to the net,” East Meadow coach Bryan Horrmann said. “It took a couple games, but they finally got it. I feel like they’re starting to buy into the little things that we’re trying to push, which is great.”

Baldwin (2-6-2) struggled with clearances and conceded eight corner kicks, with the fifth yielding East Meadow’s second goal with just 56.9 seconds left in the half. The ball looked to be heading out of play before Cruz lunged forward.

“I just wanted to get it inside,” Cruz said. “It was an opportunity, and I wanted to score or assist that.”

He lofted the ball back across the box where O’Leary volleyed it in to give East Meadow (4-7, 4-6 in Conference AAA) a two-goal advantage.

HALFTIME: East Meadow leads 2-0 over Baldwin.

Two goals in the final seven minutes for East Meadow. Colin Smith crashes a rebound off Kevin Cruz’s shot.

Matthew O’Leary adds a second. Check that out here. pic.twitter.com/jpb6dG9KG4

— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) September 30, 2026

East Meadow’s back line of Evan Velez, Mike Pokaliuk, Ryan DeVoti and Brayan Soto faced constant pressure across the final 25 minutes, but the Jets didn’t break. Goalkeeper Marvin Espana made six saves.

“There’s a bunch of kids that really want to push it,” O’Leary said. “I feel like every time we step on the field, everyone just thinks, ‘Oh, it’s East Meadow. It’s going to be a win.’

I want to change that. I want it to be like past years where we start making the playoffs, like when [East Meadow] won [the county title] in 2023. I want to have that feeling.”