Nicholas Shuleshov's late goal leads Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK past Port Washington in semis
Nicholas Shuleshov of Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK scores during a Nassau Class AAA semifinal boys soccer game against Port Washington on Sunday at Farmingdale State. Credit: Dawn McCormick
It looked like this waterlogged Nassau Class AAA boys soccer semifinal at Farmingdale State was headed for OT. The clock ticked under four minutes left in regulation and Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK and Port Washington still hadn’t put the ball into the net.
Then, suddenly, someone did.
Nicholas Shuleshov scored after a corner kick in the rain for second-seeded Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK, which won a county championship for the first time in 37 years last season when it ruled AA. Now the Hawks can go after second straight Nassau crown in a different class after edging No. 6 Port Washington, 1-0, on Sunday.
“Our job was to get back into the finals this year,” said Shuleshov, a sophomore center back who also started last season. “We got that chance, we took care of it, and I scored. That goal wasn’t for me. That goal was for my team. This is for all my seniors. This team is my family.”
This “family” will be facing No. 8 East Meadow for the title at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Mitchel Athletic Complex. The Hawks blanked the Jets, 2-0, in September.
“It’s just amazing,” coach Christine Ho said. “To get there once was unbelievable. For us to be able to go back again is an unreal feeling.”
There hadn’t been many close calls for goalkeepers Jack Resnick (Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK) and Owen Jarrell (Port Washington).
Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK (11-3-2) had five corner kicks in the second half, but nothing came of one until No. 5.
Ryan Misiti sent the ball low into the box from the right corner and Shuleshov put it past Jarrell into the left side of the net.
“The whole game, every corner, we’d been just lobbing it in, hoping someone gets a head on it,” Misiti said. “Chris Simonian, my teammate, was like, ‘Yo, give a low-driven ball.’ That’s what I did. It skipped right through because the surface was really wet.”
This was the second straight year the Hawks edged the Vikings (8-4-4), 1-0, in the semifinals.
“It definitely hurts,” Port Washington coach Stephan Brossard said. “Better performance by us this year than last, though."
The Hawks' are now back in the title game, exactly where they were determined to be.
“That was the goal from the beginning,” Misiti said. “In August, during preseason, we knew we had the potential, and if we worked hard, we were going to do it. And now we’re back. We’ve got to stay humble, though.”
