Mohamed Alsayedi nets winner in double overtime to give Mineola the LI Class A boys soccer title
Mohamed Alsayedi #11 of Mineola, left, gets congratulated by teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime to give the Mustangs a 4-3 win over Kings Park in the boys soccer Class A Long Island Championship at Farmingdale State College on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. Credit: James Escher
Mineola boys soccer forward/midfielder Mohamed Alsayedi showed what championship-defining moments are all about.
Early in the second overtime period, Alsayedi accelerated with possession down the right side of the field. Despite having two Kings Park defenders on him, Alsayedi let loose a shot that took a deflection off a defender and bounced into the left side of the net with 10:21 remaining.
Alsayedi’s goal handed Mineola a 4-3 win over Suffolk champion Kings Park and its first Long Island title since 2005.
“Going down [the field], [I’m] thinking about how it feels to win,” Alsayedi said. “Excited, thinking about the moments that we’re gonna have when I score. Thinking about anybody that scores, thinking about the moments we’re gonna have, how we’re gonna celebrate.”
In search of its first state title, Mineola (13-2-3) will face the winner of Byram Hills/Beacon in the Class A state semifinal at 3:15 p.m. Friday at Middletown High School. Kings Park finished its season 14-4-1.
“They’re probably the best group of soccer players I’ve coached,” Mineola coach Al Cavalluzzo said. “… There’s no ego on this team, they want to win for each other.”
Mineola's Jose Escobar scored the game’s first goal just 29 seconds in, using a stutter step at the top of the box before firing a rocket into the right side of the net.
Kings Park evened the score a few minutes later, as Vincent D’Antona tapped in Alex Squillacioti’s corner kick.
Mineola outplayed Kings Park for much of the first half, though. Marlon Portillo scored from a free kick to the left of the box with 17:42 left in the half, and Adryan Campos gave the Mustangs a 3-1 halftime lead on a goal with 10:18 left in the frame.
It looked as if Mineola had wrapped things up after a Kings Park red card with 20:37 left, but the Kingsmen fought.
Bryan Sredniawski scored with 18:56 left to cut it to 3-2. Mineola was then charged with its own red card to bring the play to 10 vs. 10 with 18:23 left, and Louis Pelo scored five seconds later to even the score at 3.
The game seemed destined for penalty kicks in an overtime with two tired teams, but Alsayedi’s burst proved to be the difference.
“This group has been together since eighth grade, and they told me in eighth grade they were gonna do this,” Cavalluzzo said. “And it’s awesome for them. They are a phenomenal group of young men.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.