Nick West, JC Barrientos lift East Hampton to Class A title
East Hampton's JC Barrientos and Christian Molina go up for the header during the Suffolk Class A boys soccer finals. (Nov. 12, 2012) Credit: Alan J Schaefer
Nick West is playing with a strained tendon in his left knee, but you can't tell.
The sophomore scored two goals, both assisted by JC Barrientos, to lead No. 2 East Hampton to a 2-1 win over No. 4 Glenn Monday in the Suffolk Class A final/Southeast Regional boys soccer semifinals at Dowling.
Next up for East Hampton (13-3-3) is the Long Island championship, where it faces Jericho at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Dowling Sports Complex.
The Bonackers won their second consecutive county title and did it with just four seniors; Glenn finished 12-3-4.
West, who has 12 goals, was moved to forward in the semifinal with East Hampton trailing 2-1 and scored two goals. He started at forward Monday and delivered again.
One minute after East Hampton goalkeeper Nick Tulp made a save on a breakaway, West scored off a Barrientos feed in the 64th minute.
"I saw JC get behind the last defender," West said. "I decided to run near post and JC slotted it perfectly."
Said Barrientos: "Nick is on fire. I have played with him since I was seven. That chemistry helps a lot."
While West was in the right place, Barrientos helped set things up.
"JC was all over the field and dictated the whole rhythm," East Hampton coach Rich King said. "He was winning the balls in air and distributing. He's invaluable."
