Carlos Rivera Leads Blue Devil Soccer Honorees
Huntington senior Carlos Rivera led a parade of Blue Devil honorees at the Suffolk Boys’ Soccer Coaches Association awards dinner at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook.
Rivera earned spots on the All-County and All-State teams after notching 22 goals and seven assists this past fall.
The Blue Devil honorees included Olvin Palma, who captured All-County recognition; Marlon Licona, who was named All-Conference; and Wilber Parada, Mark Rafuse and Nat Amato, who all grabbed spots on the All-League team. Amato was also one of a small group of players honored as Academic All-County.
Huntington head coach John Pagano was named Suffolk League III Coach of the Year. It was the second consecutive season that the Blue Devils’ mentor won the league award. Assistant coach Jason Suarez was recognized for turning in his tenth year of service on the varsity level.
Rivera was one of a small handful of players recognized for a scoring at least 20 goals this year. He was also one of just five Suffolk players to receive the Captain Alex Fyfe Courage Award.
“Alex Fyfe graduated from Rocky Point High School and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point,” states the SCSCA website. “While in high school he played three varsity seasons and
collected All-County honors in his junior and senior years. He received All-State honors in
1995. His efforts to bring peace in Iraq through soccer equipment and supplies was a complete success. Soccer people from Suffolk County and around the world sent soccer supplies that Alex handed out to the children of northern Iraq.”
It was a superb year for Huntington, which went 11-1-2 in league play and 15-2-2 overall. The Blue Devils advanced to the county semifinals for the second time in three years. Huntington’s 15 victories were the most for a Blue Devil boys’ soccer team since 1980. The Blue Devils were vying 
for its first appearance in the Suffolk finals since 1971, but the Blue Devils fell just short to No. 1 seeded Brentwood, which is ranked second in the state. The Indians used a second half goal to edge Huntington, 1-0 last week.
Amato, who recorded eight shutouts this past fall and Rafuse will both be returning to the field next year for the Blue Devils, along with Denilson Osorto Aguilera, Matthew Gelb and Kevin Gulizio.
Huntington was vying for its first appearance in the Suffolk finals since 1971, but the Blue Devils fell just short to No. 1 seeded Brentwood, 1-0.