Jonathan Interiano helps Brentwood rally
Brentwood's Jonathan Interiano reacts after scoring the winning goal in overtime to beat Ward Melville 3-2 in the Suffolk high school boys soccer Class AA quarterfinal game. (Nov. 4, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Jonathan Interiano felt he owed his team something. The Brentwood junior thinks he has underachieved this season.
He recently missed almost two weeks with an illness. Friday, he couldn't get off a shot on a breakaway with 18:30 left in regulation.
Interiano played sparingly in a Friday's first-round win, but as he did last season in the state playoffs, he came through in the biggest spot. Interiano scored on a breakaway off a pass from Ever Torres 36 seconds into overtime as No. 5 Brentwood rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat host No. 4 Ward Melville, 3-2, in a Suffolk Class AA boys soccer quarterfinal. Brentwood (15-2-1), the three-time defending Class AA champions, will host No. 8 Commack in a semifinal at 2 p.m. Monday.
"That pass from Ever was perfect," Interiano said. "I caught up to it and put it in the net. I haven't been playing up to my potential."
Interiano scored a goal in a state semifinal and the final last season as the Indians won the state championship.
"John is a great player," Brentwood's Jeffrey Medina said. "I have played soccer with him since age 5. He always has something good in him. He's a great finisher in the big moments."
Ward Melville (14-3-1) led 2-0 with first-half goals from Shane Dineen and Mike Balzan. Ten yellow cards were issued and two red cards. Ward Melville captain Andrew Degrassi picked up his second yellow card with 29:11 left in regulation resulting in a red card and an ejection.
"Some of the calls dictated what happened both ways," Ward Melville coach Jon Stecker said. "That was a game changer. It's like losing your quarterback."
Torres scored off an assist from Christian Argueta with 27:16 left and six minutes later Mario Ruiz scored off a perfect cross from Argueta to tie the score at 2 for Brentwood.
"That's Brentwood pride right there," Ruiz said. "We know we'll come back."
