H-ton Boys’ Soccer Ready for
Suffolk Playoffs
An extremely fast paced and physical game between the Huntington High School and Smithtown West boys’ soccer teams ended in a 1-1 stalemate before a crowd of 500 on Senior Day at Blue Devil Stadium last week. It was the final contest of the regular season for both squads.
The tie gave Smithtown West first place in Suffolk League III with a mark of 12-1-1 (13-1-1 overall). Huntington earned second place with a record of 11-1-2 (13-1-2 overall.) Both teams are ranked statewide by the New York State Sportswriters Association, with Smithtown West at No. 11 and the Blue Devils at No. 16.
Huntington senior Carlos Rivera headed in his 20th goal of the season off an assist by Olvin Palma to account for Huntington’s lone point on the scoreboard against Smithtown West. Goalie Nat Amato stopped five shots in the net for the Blue Devils.
Coached by John Pagano, who is assisted by Jason Suarez, Huntington had many scoring opportunities, but could not put the ball in the net after Rivera’s lone strike. Play was fierce between the two talented teams, with both featuring aggressive defenses. Neither let a ball go unchallenged.
The biggest crowd of the season was energized throughout the contest. The game was recorded by Verizon FiOS for television rebroadcast and covered by Newsday. Even Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky was on the sidelines.
The Blue Devils quickly recovered from the exhaustion they experienced from the game. Coaches and players waited patiently for the county post-season seeds and pairings to be announced.
Huntington is seeded fourth in the Section XI Class AA playoff bracket. The Blue Devils host No. 13 Northport (8-6 league/10-6 overall) at 2 p.m. on the Blue Devil Stadium turf. If Huntington wins, it will host another playoff game on Friday at 2 p.m.
“I feel like the regular season went amazing,” Catarino said. “From us being ranked fourth in our league to finishing second was truly an amazing feeling. We worked really hard to get where we are and being the No. 4 seed in the playoffs is really great. It’s an amazing feeling to be a part of this team.”
Senior Day Festivities
Before the game, Pagano recognized Renato Aguilar Chavez, Oscar Aguilar-Cruz, Jaime Bonilla, Jason Catarino, Javyin Coto, Evi Cruz-Umanzor, Santos Garcia Avelar, Brandon 
Guerrero-Hernand, Michael Karasik, Marlon Licona Flores, Matthew Muszynski, Olvin Palma, Wilber Parada, Gabe Quesquen, Carlos Rivera Ronquillo, Diego Rodriquez, Mitchel Rudish, Jahlil Sallet, Kevin Santos-Mendez, Dylan Schedler and Kevin Segovia-Ticas during a Senior Day ceremony.
The players were accompanied out on the field by their parents. The seniors were lauded for their commitment to the program, to bettering themselves and to winning. “These players have given us their all,” Pagano said. “I am very proud of all of them.”