Olivares, Guzman, Nimmons scored in Brentwood win
Commack's keeper Jake Amereno, left, stops a shot on goal kicked by Brentwood's Julio Olivares. Commack's Vincent Iannitelli (center) defends. (Oct. 9, 2010) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Julio Olivares hears the trash talk on the field every game. The Brentwood senior hears his opponents tell him that the Indians aren't as good as last year's team that reached the state championship game.
"I get that a lot on the field," Olivares said. "We lost a lot of players, but we're still good."
Brentwood proved it Saturday with a 3-1 home win over Commack in Suffolk League I boys soccer. Olivares, Frank Guzman and Davaughn Nimmons scored for Brentwood (8-1-1, 6-1-1). It was the first loss of the season for Commack (9-1, 7-1), which is ranked 14th nationally in the Powerade Fab 50 ESPN Rise rankings.
"This is a team everybody wrote off," Brentwood coach Ron Eden said. "I think they wrote us off a little too early."
Brentwood has played through injuries and suffered two more Saturday. Marvin Chinchilla sprained his MCL and will miss 3-4 weeks, according to Eden. Goalkeeper Herson Guzman suffered a throat injury after a collision with a Commack player 15 minutes into the game and had to leave for treatment. He returned for the second half and made three saves.
"It was true grit," Eden said. "We lost two quality players early. Olivares has a high ankle sprain and a bum knee. He's really struggling. He's been hurt for six weeks of the season, but he's coming on now. That kid is a big game player. He comes when the game means the most."
He showed it last season with two goals in the Long Island championship. While this game wasn't of the same magnitude, it was important for Brentwood if it hopes to win the league title and get a top seed in the postseason.
Commack ended Brentwood's 78-game league unbeaten streak in the first meeting last season before Brentwood won the next two, including a semifinal win at Commack. The Cougars defeated Brentwood, 1-0, on Sept. 21.
"This was a big game for us," Guzman said. "We came out ready to play. We needed this win."
Guzman helped start it with a corner kick into the box that the 6-1 Nimmons headed into the goal with 1:13 left in the first half. Nimmons was just substituted in before the corner kick.
"He came out and got a goal," Guzman said. "He has size and he'll jump for the ball."
Added Eden: "The kids played very well. Guys stepped up who didn't play many minutes this year. Davaughn has been on the field maybe five minutes this year. I know he's great in the air and he got that ball good. That set the tone for us."
Olivares scored on an assist from Christian Argueta with 12:58 left and Guzman was assisted by Johnathan Interiano with 9:36 left to make it 3-0. Harrison Sussman broke the shutout for Commack on an assist from Jack Miller with 6:19 left.
The Brentwood players dumped the water bucket on Eden after the game. Eden picked up his 400th career win at Brentwood, with 218 as head coach and 182 as an assistant in 31 years.
