Sports
Boys' Soccer Team Looks to Bounce Back
After a rough 2009 campaign, the Marines want to re-establish themselves with more depth and talent.
After a disappointing 2009 season, the Long Beach boys' varsity soccer team looks to rebound this season with more talent and depth. The Marines are banking on these assets as the face conference re-alignment, which has them playing new and tougher competitors.
Team: Long Beach Marines boys' varsity soccer
2009 record: 2 wins, 8 losses, 3 draws
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Division: Nassau Conference III
Coach: Bill DeFilippis is in his 28th season as head coach. Leo Palacio is the assistant coach.
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Players to watch:
- Vlad Finn: senior forward
- Dylan Palacio: junior midfielder
- Jordan Ochs: senior goalkeeper
- Manny Flory: freshman forward-midfielder
Breakdown:
Finn was an All-Conference player and a member of the Empire State Games team that represented Long Island last year. His performance will go a long way toward determining Long Beach's success in 2010. "He's a real soccer kid," said DeFilippis. "He's legit."
Palacio is a returning All-County honorable mention player. After a summer of hard work, goalkeeper Ochs plan to step up and be a leader. "He trained this year," DeFilippis said. "He went to some camps. He's much improved and he's also more experienced."
Expectations:
DeFilippis is concerned about how re-alignment might affect his team's chances this year. "We've been building towards this team for the last few years," DeFilippis said. "We might be in over our heads. We're now in a very tough league. But these are very tough kids."
Schedule:
Once again, the "R" word, re-alignment, is creating a lot of guesswork for DeFilippis. Teams like Great Neck South, last year's county finalists Calhoun (Merrick) and last year's 10 -1 Kennedy-Bellmore squad are all on the docket for the Marines in 2010.
The Marines are 0-1 after dropping their season opener to non-league opponent, Hewlett, on Tuesday. "We had a lot of scoring opportunities against Hewlett but we couldn't finish," DeFilippis said. "We only scored 12 goals last year. So we need to learn to put the ball in the net."
Long Beach boys' varsity soccer plays a non-league match against Elmont on Thursday at the Long Beach Middle School. Start time is 4:30 p.m.
