Louis Zuniga scores twice to lead Farmingdale past Calhoun
Farmingdale's Louis Zuniga, left, dribbles the ball on his way to scoring his second goal of the game against Calhoun goalie John Speciale during their game at Farmingdale High School on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. Credit: Richard T. Slattery
Louis Zuniga had a simple focus as the ball bounced toward his right foot inside the box.
"There was only one option: score the goal," he said.
It was the same mentality he had about 10 minutes earlier, when he scored the game's first goal for Farmingdale with 31:44 left. And again, he converted.
The sophomore forward tapped in Brendon Hornedo's throw-in with 21:50 left to break a tie and lead the Dalers to a 2-1 win Monday over visiting Calhoun in a Nassau AA-II/AA-IV boys soccer crossover.
Zuniga's second goal came fewer than three minutes after Calhoun's Michael Harten tapped in Stephen Dobre's free kick to even things up at 1.
"We dodged a bullet there," Farmingdale coach Kevin Shanley said about the quick response.
Shanley said he chose to run a 4-4-2 formation this season, pairing Zuniga up front with Milton Alvarez, whose quickness and strong right foot demand heavy attention. Neither Alvarez nor Zuniga had made much of an impact on the scoreboard until recently, though. Once they did, the Dalers (3-3-1) started winning.
Alvarez netted a hat trick in Farmingdale's previous game, a 6-2 win over Great Neck South. He has four goals on the season.
Zuniga entered Monday's game with one goal.
"Louis has had a lot of chances and hasn't finished," Shanley said. "Today he found the net."
Said Zuniga: "It feels great."
He scored his first goal after a free kick into the box found Hornedo, who sent it back into the air with his foot. Zuniga elevated and headed it into the right corner.
"I just remember the ball coming at me and out of the corner of my eye seeing him staring right at me, looking to me for the ball," Hornedo said.
That goal snapped a quest by Calhoun (2-3-2) for its third shutout of the season and, ended a 48-minute stretch highlighted by solid defense on both ends.
First-year goalie Zane Ehlinger, a senior, made five saves for Farmingdale, including two with a crowd in front of the net midway through the first half. He also received a key cover from Caleb Murthy.
With 8:30 left in the first, Ehlinger came out to stop an attack by Calhoun. He slowed the ball but didn't stop it, sending it spinning toward the goal line. Enter Murthy.
"I just threw my whole body on the floor," he said, "and slapped it with my head."
