Matt Parker's heroics help Syosset shock Massapequa
Syosset goalie Matt Parker celebrates after teammate Matt Zipkowitz scored an insurance goal against Massapequa on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
Syosset goalkeeper Matt Parker said it was like the movie "Miracle," which chronicled the United States' 1980 Olympic hockey team's unlikely gold-medal story. Do you believe in Halloween ghostbusters? Yes!
Parker made eight saves, including two of the brilliant variety, to keep the game scoreless as fourth-seeded Syosset rode second-half goals by Richie Rambarran and Larry Zipkowitz to stun top-seeded and defending county, Long Island and state champion Massapequa, 2-0, Friday night in a Nassau AA semifinal boys soccer game at Farmingdale State.
Syosset improved to 11-5-1 and will play MacArthur for the Nassau AA title on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Hofstra. Massapequa, which hadn't lost a game since Oct. 5 of 2013, finished 14-1-2.
"Massapequa is a great team. We've had our struggles with them before," Parker said. In the two previous meetings this season, Massapequa exploded from scoreless first halves to register 3-0 and 7-0 blowouts.
That's why Parker's heroics in the 21st minute of the second half were so critical. He stopped Peter Meyer's 25-yard blast from straightaway, which was a neat trick. But the real treat was what happened next.
The rebound caromed to a wide-open Anthony Pagano in front and some Massapequa players started to raise their arms anticipating a goal. But Parker had other ideas. "It's kind of a blur right now, but I just made an all-out run for the ball," he said. "I probably shouldn't have allowed the rebound in the first place so I had to make up for it."
That save seemed to inspire the Braves. Three minutes later, Rambarran converted a long ball from Jake Mitchnick to provide a 1-0 lead. "Talk about a spark, how about a sophomore, who is a righty, showing the composure to go to his left foot," a marveling Syosset coach Brett Waxer said.
Zipkowitz followed with two breakaways that sailed wide, but given a third one-on-one opportunity, he scored the clincher with 2:32 left. "I had a few bad touches, but my team kept setting me up," Zipkowitz said. "We knew they were a great team and we had to stand up on defense and pick our spots to attack. We held our breaths on those saves, but after that we outplayed them physically and stayed strong mentally."
Waxer called Parker's acrobatics "a two-way thing. It was a lift for us -- if they scored there, our guys would've been thinking 'Here we go again' -- and it showed Massapequa that it wouldn't be easy."
Rocchio lifts MacArthur. Anthony Rocchio followed up a rebound of his own shot to score with 23:21 remaining and Kevin Clifford scored into an empty net in the final seconds as No. 3 MacArthur defeated No. 2 Plainview JFK, 2-0, Friday night in the second Nassau AA boys soccer semifinal at Farmingdale State. The Generals improved to 13-0-3. Plainview JFK finished 11-1-2.
Plainview JFK nearly scored the equalizer with 8:11 left when David Geyer got behind MacArthur goalkeeper Sean Lyons. But sweeper Greg Baumstein was in perfect position to boot away Geyer's shot.
It was the 13th shutout of the season for Lyons, a sophomore.
