Locust Valley boys soccer's two late goals garner victory over Wheatley
Brandon Villanueva of Locust Valley tries to get past Wheatley's Nick Ramalhete during a Nassau Conference B boys soccer game in Old Westbury on Friday, October 7, 2022. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Locust Valley snuck up on everyone last season and spirited away with the Nassau Class B boys soccer championship. The Falcons aren’t going to be able to catch anyone by surprise this time around, especially after the feat they pulled on Friday against ever-stingy host Wheatley.
Locust Valley scored twice in a seven-minute span late in the second half to pull out a gritty 2-1 victory and assume the lead for the No. 2 seeding behind front-running Cold Spring Harbor for the upcoming county tournament.
The Falcons (8-2-1, 7-2-1) have a pair of losses to CSH, but after what coach Joseph Lee called “a game that feels like a turning point for us,” they’re allowing themselves to think about a repeat.
“It was our best game — 100%,” junior midfielder Johnny Guillen said. “We were down 1-0 and we kept fighting to come away with the win.”
Guillen made the passes that led to both goals. Sophomore Andrew Villanueva positioned himself in front of the Wildcats’ goal and Guillen put a free kick on his right foot for the tying goal with 17:27 to play.
Senior Brandon Villanueva got a long pass from Guillen and had just one defender to beat to get a crack at Wheatley’s impressive keeper Bryan McCleary.
McCleary had allowed only four non-penalty kick goals all season and turned away more than a dozen shot the day before as Locust Valley battled Wheatley to a tie at 1. “He’s so good it makes you nervous,” Brandon Villanueva said.
He was going to his right and made the shot to his left past the diving goalie with 10:47 to play.
“Brandon is the best forward I’ve ever coached — with him we’re never out of it,” Lee said. “We needed him to be the best forward in our conference in that moment to beat the best goalie in our conference and he did.”
Wheatley (6-2-3, 5-2-3) had allowed just six goals all season and appeared to be working on its seventh shutout with strong play by senior Tyler Richman and junior Zach Sparacio in front of McCleary. And it grabbed a 1-0 lead when rocketed a missed shot past Falcons keeper Owen Pye in the game’s 15th minute.
But Locust Valley countered the Wildcats’ clogging midfield defense by playing along the sidelines to create space and get its opportunities in the second half.
Pye and McCleary each made nine saves.
“Since we lost the Long Island championship (to Babylon) last year, we’ve been wanting to get back,” Guillen said. “This is where it all starts. We flipped a switch today. It’s time for us to be that championship caliber team again.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
