Mepham, MacArthur play to tie in key Nassau A-I boys soccer matchup
Mike Powers of MacArthur, left, makes a header under pressure from Dominic Saraceni of Mepham during a Nassau Conference A1 boys soccer game on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. Credit: James Escher
What is it about the Mepham and MacArthur boys soccer teams this season?
After a physical, hard-fought 1-1 tie at Mepham on Thursday, the two teams are both 8-0-4 overall and tied for first place in Nassau Conference A-I with identical 6-0-4 records.
The two programs, which tied 0-0 at MacArthur on Sept. 20, have each tied Long Beach and Jericho.
However, it seemed like neither team was happy after 80 minutes of regulation. (Nassau schools do not play overtime games in the regular season. Suffolk teams do.)
"I’m disappointed," said Mepham junior Deshaun Maitland, whose beautiful cross found Dominic Saraceni, who scored in the ninth minute to open the scoring.
"We’re still undefeated which is great," he added, "but I felt like we beat them, just not on the scoreboard."
Arguably, the man of the match was MacArthur junior goalkeeper Tyler Behr, who had 11 saves, including a few diving stops.
"He was spectacular," Mepham coach Zachary Gosse said. "He’s super confident and he’s in control of the back."
Gosse’s goalkeeper, Nick Parisi, was solid as well with seven saves.
MacArthur beat the junior in the 22nd minute when Cristian Perez Franco (6 goals, 5 assists) headed a ball backwards that found Joey Mahoney in stride. The sophomore shot a low screamer for the equalizer.
"It was a great pass," Mahoney said. "I took a touch and went left corner."
Mepham had the better play and scoring opportunities in the final 40 minutes, but couldn’t solve Behr.
"We wanted to come in here and win," said Behr, who had four saves in the first meeting. "It’s not the way we wanted to finish, but if a tie is the best result we can get today, we’ll take it."
Both teams have two regular season games left -- MacArthur faces Long Beach and Jericho; Mepham has road games versus Great Neck South and Long Beach.
"Right now it’s a dead heat," said Gosse with a smile. "It might come down to how each team does against Long Beach."
There’s a lot at stake for both programs in a deep and talented Nassau Class A, including Carey, Garden City, Glen Cove, South Side, Mineola, North Shore and Lawrence among others.
Could there be a Mepham-MacArthur III?
"If we get the top seed, we’ll have mostly home games," Behr said. "We want to win counties."
Maitland said: "I expect to see them again. Next time, we want to finish them."
