Mario Arreola helps lead Mattituck boys to soccer semifinal victory

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. -- First on the itinerary for the Mattituck boys soccer team Saturday was a 6 a.m. wake-up call.

"That was the hard part," senior forward Mario Arreola said, "because that's early."

The rest came easy for the Tuckers, who seemingly all awoke at the early hour with a strong sense of focus.

"We had a whole itinerary for today," captain midfielder Paul Hayes said. "And it was important to keep the schedule."

Businesslike, at 7:30 a.m. the players ate breakfast in their hotel rooms. They stretched a few minutes later. They arrived at the field around 8 o'clock for the game that started at 9:15 a.m.

By 10 a.m., Mattituck had opened an early lead and was able to cruise toward accomplishing the last item on its itinerary for the day.

"Yes, winning was on the itinerary," Hayes said, smiling.

SEE PHOTOSMattituck vs. Skaneateles

Arreola had two goals and one assist as Mattituck defeated Skaneateles, 6-0, in a Class B boys soccer state semifinal at Middletown Middle School.

The wide margin didn't come as a complete shock to some players.

"Even in the hotel, we told ourselves we had to come here and go hard soon as the first minute," Arreola said. "And that's what we did."

The Tuckers (18-2) will play Plattsburgh-Beekmantown (18-2) for the championship here at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Mattituck had a convincing 5-0 lead at halftime and controlled possession for most of the match.

"I thought the first 40 minutes, for us, was some of the best soccer you could possibly watch," coach Mat Litchult said. "I was really extremely proud with how the guys came out. From the opening whistle, they were dominant. I can't point to somebody on our team who had a down match today."

The scoring came from multiple players.

Walter Jacob scored the first goal on an assist from Arreola nine minutes into the game.

Hayes scored on a header four minutes later.

Arreola added an exclamation point when he buried a curling shot from the top of the penalty box into the top left corner of the net with 15 minutes left in the first half.

"That," Arreola said, "looked pretty."

James Hayes (Paul's twin brother) added a goal off Kevin Wlliams' corner kick, and then Arreola scored his second goal two minutes before the first half ended when he beat the goalkeeper on a breakaway.

"We've said for a while how much we wanted to be here this season," Williams said. "Now, we made a statement today."

Mattituck's second unit played for most of the second half, and they, too, played with a similar strong focus.

Axel Rodriguez-Canel scored the sixth goal with five minutes remaining in the game.

Mattituck goalkeeper Ben Knowles made a pair of pretty saves early in the first half before the Tuckers established a big lead.

"We played the best soccer I've seen in a long time," Arreola said.

Still, Mattituck isn't satisfied.

The Tuckers, who were ranked as the No. 1 team in Class B in the latest coaches' poll, are seeking their first state title since 2003.

The celebration after Saturday's win was very subdued.

"It's not over yet," Hayes said. "It's great to win 6-0; I'm smiling, I'm happy, I'm speechless. But my goal is to make sure we win tomorrow. That's the plan."

From Hayes' perspective, that's somewhere on Sunday's itinerary.