Diego Argueta scores twice as Brentwood tops Ward Melville in boys soccer

The best teams know how to put a game away. It’s a mentality that led Brentwood boys soccer to an undefeated state championship last year, and it’s the same concept that led the champions to run away with a 5-1 non-league win over host Ward Melville after leading by just one at halftime Tuesday.

Brentwood had three quality shots on target within the first 10 minutes of the game, but only added two more throughout the rest of the first half. That included a penalty kick with 40 seconds left in the half off a hand ball, scored by junior Diego Argueta.

“If you leave them in the game because you miss chances, they grow into the game and then we have problems,” Brentwood coach Ron Eden said.

Junior Jessy Pacheco Carranza opened the scoring for Brentwood off a pass from senior Nicholas Espitia, blasting a beautiful shot into the top-left corner from 20 yards out. But Eden’s words rang true when Ward Melville (4-2) responded with a goal of its own three minutes later, courtesy of some nifty footwork by senior Chisom Okeoma.

“We all know that Ward Melville is a good team, and we knew they had the opportunity to come back into the game whenever they want,” Espitia said. “So, we knew that we had to come back and try to bury them, and that’s what we did.”

For the final 40 minutes, it was all Brentwood as Argueta netted his brace only 45 seconds into the second half.

“I knew it would come, and it takes a little bit of time to find the right chemistry,” Eden said. “We have a lot of good players, but to find the ones that play together, that’s the thing.”

Nothing spoke more to that chemistry than Brentwood’s fourth goal. Senior Josue Granados displayed some eyes in the back of his head, back-heeling a cross to Espitia who lasered the ball toward the far-post and into the bottom left corner of the net.

“I thought he was going to shoot it, but he let it go for me,” Espitia said. “I got the finish, and it was a great feeling.”

It’s easy for a team like Brentwood (8-0-1), which has lost just one game since October 2021, to get complacent. But Tuesday’s win showed how this team is not only capable of closing out wins, but  slamming the door in the face of its opponents in the pursuit of the ultimate goal — back-to-back state titles.

“The captains that we have here, they all know what it takes to win those state games,” Espitia said. “That’s what we got to try to do, to lead them back upstate and take it all home again.”