Baymen Boys Soccer Comes Back To Defeat Rival Southampton

There’s something about this year’s Hampton Bays boys soccer team that head coach George Carney thinks has a special run in it.

He thought that before his team’s come-from-behind 5-4 victory at rival Southampton on September 28, but that only furthered his feelings. Carney, in his second year as varsity head coach, said his team had already doubled its win total (four) from last year and it plans on adding to it.

“I do have 12 seniors this year. I want to say at least five or six of them have been playing with me since my time as the JV coach, so I do know quite well what they’re capable of,” he explained. “At 4-3, we’re two wins away from a playoff spot with five games left, and it’s been a little while since we made the playoffs.

“This is definitely a more spirited group of kids who have been playing together for a long time,” Carney added. “They’ve bought into the system and our captains are just amazing. They’re well-respected seniors. My goalkeeper is one of the hardest workers and this is a season where I do feel like they can complete the turnaround. They’ve done a lot more than what’s been expected of them, and from here on in I think they’re going to be someone to be reckoned with. And once we get to the playoffs, that’s a whole new season. We’re going to try and win the league. Our next step will be to make the playoffs, and we’ll go from there — but I feel good about our chances.”

The Baymen had defeated the Mariners, 3-1, on their home turf on September 7, so they knew they were going to come out firing, and they certainly did. Edgar Diaz opened the scoring within the first 10 minutes off an assist from Nicholas Gonzalez, and after Hampton Bays tied it five minutes later, Josue Leon scored to give Southampton a 2-1 lead by halftime.

Southampton wasn’t done just yet. Four minutes into the second half, Gonzalez scored to make it a 3-1 game, then just minutes later Erick Campohermoso scored off a corner, assisted by Danny Bustamante, to give the Mariners a commanding 4-1 lead.

With just over 20 minutes left in regulation, a Hampton Bays player was tackled in the box, awarding a penalty kick to the Baymen. Jordy Villa took it and capitalized, making it a 4-2 game, which is when things started to get dicey.

Hampton Bays sent a long groundball into the box, almost more like a clear than a shot, but the ball got close enough to the goal line that the official, from about 30 yards away, called it a goal, stating that the entire ball crossed over the line. Southampton head coach Dave Riley said it was a close call, but that senior captain Mason Stephens did a good job of getting to the ball well before the entire ball crossed and instead cleared the ball.

“I don’t think that ball was in, nor do I think [the official] was in position to make that call,” Riley said.

Nonetheless, the goal stood, and the Baymen were now only a goal way from tying the game. That goal eventually came with 10 minutes remaining in the game when Charlie Garcia, Hampton Bays’ leading goal scorer, found the back of the net. Then, with about five minutes remaining in the game, Brendan Guevara, a sophomore playing in his first varsity game, scored his second goal of the game, when he gathered a rebound off the cross bar and scored to make it a 5-4 game.

“We went on a quick six-minute slide there after they scored on the penalty kick,” Riley said. “We did have some injuries at that time. We had some guys who were seriously cramping. At one point, we had six guys out on the sideline getting worked out, but that’s not to minimize Hampton Bays and its effort. We know they’re a team that never gives up and that needs to be recognized. Despite the lapses, I’m still proud of how my guys played.”

Riley was also proud of the way his team bounced back just two days later to pick up a 4-0 nonleague win at Sayville. Gonzalez, Bustamante, Campohermoso and Leon all scored for Southampton in that win. But since it was a nonleague win, it didn’t necessarily help the Mariners in their quest to clinch a playoff spot. With four games remaining on their schedule, starting with this Thursday, October 5, at Bayport-Blue Point, Southampton will need to win out its final four games to finish with an even .500 record and automatically earn a playoff spot.

Hampton Bays hosted Bayport on Tuesday, and will play at Mount Sinai this Thursday, October 5, at 5 p.m.