Pierson/Bridgehampton boys soccer falls short of state final four

Pierson/Bridgehampton’s hopes for a trip to the state final four in boys soccer ended after halftime in Saturday’s Class C Southeast Regional final.

Haldane from Section I scored two second-half goals and won, 2-0, at Yorktown High in Westchester.

The difference besides two goals? Pierson/Bridgehampton coach Dan White could see it.

“They’re a very good team,” White said. “They possessed the ball a little better than us. They’re a little bit bigger and faster at most spots. I thought we played well. But I think we just lost to a better team.”  

The conditions played a factor for the Whalers in the scoreless first half.

“There was a pretty significant wind, and in the first half, we were going into the wind,” White said. “So to get out of that half 0-0, we felt pretty good about ourselves.”

But the Blue Devils converted with about 25 minutes remaining and put an insurance goal past Gavin Gilbride with about 10 minutes left. The senior goalkeeper otherwise made 12 saves.

“He played great,” White said. “The goals aren’t on him.”

There was no Nassau C team for the Whalers to face in a Long Island championship match. It was also Section XI’s turn to draw a bye right to the regional final in this class.  

Pierson/Bridgehampton returned home with a final record of 9-5-2.

“The season was great,” White said. “We had a good balance. I think we have seven returning starters for next year. We started two sophomores and two freshmen. We had a great senior class.”  

The Whalers’ senior core was led by Gilbride, center midfielder Javier Tubatan, center back Halsey Burton, outside back Brandon Guanga and forward Anthony Ponzini.

“Those guys, we’re going to have a hard time replacing them,” White said. “They’re the best with the ball. They’re our playmakers. They’re our scorers.”