David Vides nets winner to send Hicksville to Nassau Class AA boys soccer final
David Vides of Hicksville and Joseph Hoffman of Hicksville can't contain their excitement for after Vides' goal during the Nassau boys soccer Class AA semifinal on Friday, April 23, 2021 in Hicksville. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Seeing is believing, but for Hicksville’s David Vides it was seeing something before it happened and then making it happen.
The senior midfielder/forward had a strange thought as the ball rolled his way near the top of the box midway through the second half of a scoreless Nassau AA boys soccer semifinal.
"I saw myself already put [the ball] in [the net]," said Vides, with a wide smile.
Then the Comets’ captain made sure his vision became a reality. Vides sent a wicked blast inside the far-right post with 19:14 left in regulation to help host and top-seeded Hicksville to a 1-0 win against a gritty, No. 4 Oceanside on Friday.
Hicksville (10-1-1) hosts No. 2 Massapequa, a 2-1 overtime winner over Syosset in Friday night’s other semifinal, at 4:30 p.m. Monday for the AA title.
Oceanside (7-3-2) was making its first semifinal appearance since 2008. The Sailors lost to Hicksville twice during the regular season by a combined score of 7-1. But coach Patrick Turk’s team gave Hicksville all it could handle throughout the match.
"I thought Oceanside outplayed us for large stretches," Hicksville coach Scott Starkey said. "But like I said to my guys [after the game], ‘You don’t have to win pretty or look good. Just advance."
Oceanside, which outshot Hicksville 10-9, had a handful of scoring opportunities -- including hitting the crossbar on a free kick from 21 yards out with around five minutes to play.
The Sailors, however, just couldn't find the equalizer against the Hicksville defense, including senior defender Anthony Bonilla, who headed away a potential Oceanside goal withjust less than 27 minutes remaining. Goalkeeper Amardeep Singh made six saves for the shutout.
"We had some good chances, but things just didn’t break our way," Turk said. "We can hold our heads high despite the outcome."
Meanwhile, Hicksville is in search of its first Nassau AA crown since 2015, though Vides believes the Comets were fortunate to survive.
"They wanted it more than we did," he said. "I couldn’t watch the last 10 minutes, even though I was on the field."
Luckily, his earlier vision became a reality.
