Darin Sahadeo's perfect placement puts Half Hollow Hills West in Suffolk 'A' final
Half Hollow Hills West players mob Darin Sahadeo after he made the only goal of the game at the Suffolk boys Class A semifinal soccer game against host East Hampton on Monday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Sometimes it’s not about how well you strike the ball, it’s about where you place it.
As Darin Sahadeo received a cross from Zach Wernick, he had to stop in his tracks and swing his body around to get a piece of his foot on it.
Sahadeo connected, and the ball then slowly bounced towards the lower left corner of the net, tapped off the post and crossed the goal line with 22:31 remaining in No. 3 Half Hollow Hills West’s 1-0 win over host No. 2 East Hampton in a Suffolk Class A boys soccer semifinal Monday.
“That ball was going maybe two miles per hour,” Sahadeo said. “But it was in the right spot. It hit the post and went in, and I was jumping for joy.”
Wernick’s pass came from deep in the right corner, back to the middle of the field for Sahadeo.
“Our coaches were telling me all game to take it down the line and play it in the middle,” Wernick said. “I finally got the ball in my feet on the sideline, beat my man and found Darin.”
It was Sahadeo’s fifth goal of the season, but just his first since Sept. 23.
“I’ve been playing defense well, but I’m glad I got a chance to get back up in the box and show what I can do,” the senior midfielder said.
Hills West (12-3-2) advances to face defending champion and top-seeded Amityville in the final on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Comsewogue.
Both teams had plenty of opportunities throughout the game, but it became a defensive battle midway through the first half.
“Early on, we got the feeling that it could’ve been a 4-to-3 type of game,” head coach Doug Gannon said. “To hold a very talented and well-coached team to no goals was fun to watch.”
Each goalie had a signature play, as Dylan Seltzer tapped a header just over the crossbar with 8:29 remaining for Hills West. One of Nicholas Guerrero’s five saves came on a penalty kick with 14 minutes left for East Hampton (12-3).
Hills West’s back line, which was constantly quick to get to the ball, limited East Hampton’s chances in the second half.
“We did a good job of blocking shots, being aggressive and trying to win every single ball,” said center back Aleksander Proniewski. “That’s Hills West soccer.”
The Colts lost 3-1 to Amityville on Sept. 15, but are more confident this time around.
Sahadeo said: “We’re ready to stun the world."
