Ryan Willoughby's 3 assists lead Island Trees
Island Trees' Dylan Cranmer gets congratulated by teammates, from left, William Lynch, Ryan Catalano and Ryan Willoughby after scoring a goal in the first half of a Nassau Conference AB-III varsity boys soccer game against Oyster Bay at James H. Vernon School on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. Credit: James Escher
In 2012, when Ray Due was in his first year as Island Trees' boys soccer coach, it didn't take long for him to realize something was different about one of his sophomores.
That player was Ryan Willoughby, who barely played as a freshman.
Due watched Willoughby's no-look passes. Due admired his ability to place a ball directly on a teammate's foot from 50 yards. Due marveled when Willoughby's blasts from 30 yards sailed into the net.
The more those sorts of things happened, the more convinced Due became that he had never seen anyone quite like Willoughby in high school.
"From that first year, I realized I've never seen a kid like him offensively at this level,'' Due said. "He's abnormal. He has such great instincts and phenomenal skills. Right from the beginning, he just had it.''
Willoughby, now a senior committed to Stony Brook, has only gotten better. After Wednesday's game, he leads Nassau County with 14 assists. Willoughby had three as Island Trees defeated Oyster Bay, 5-0, in a Conference ABC-III matchup at the Vernon Middle School in Brookville.
His first assist came off a free kick, when he delivered the ball on one bounce to Dylan Cranmer, who headed it in to give Island Trees (6-1-1) a 2-0 lead with 17 minutes left in the first half.
Cranmer, who made moving the ball difficult for Oyster Bay (5-3), was switched to defense at the start of the season after scoring four goals last year.
"I was really happy that I got that goal because I don't get as many opportunities,'' said Cranmer, who has received interest from a few Division I schools, according to Due. "Having the ball come from Willoughby made it even better. He was always really good. We've played with each other since we were 10.''
Brian Gronenthal and Ryan Catalano scored in the first half, and Will Lynch added two goals in the second half. Paul Lucenti made five saves in the shutout.
"I was a little surprised at the score,'' Willoughby said, "but we knew this was a big game.''
At this point, games such as the one Willoughby had Wednesday don't surprise many people anymore.
"It has got to the point where we're used to seeing it,'' Due said. "But that's good. When you see it once, it's nice. You start seeing it all the time, and then it means it's no accident. He's on a different level.''
