Boys Soccer: Northport 2011 Preview

If the vigor of their play at Friday’s practice is any indication, the Northport boys soccer team is poised to contend again in 2011. Just don’t expect any confirmation of that view from their coach.

“We want to be sleepers,” Don Strasser said.

And with good reason. Strasser understands the flukiness of a low-scoring sport as well as anyone. He saw it firsthand last year.

“We felt we could have won it all,” Assistant Coach Brian Sundberg said.

But stuff happens. There are only a few things a soccer team can do increase the likelihood that luck will fall in its favor. One of them, happily, is keeping possession -– and the 2011 Northport Tigers, like the 2010 edition, have a commanding midfield.

Look to the Bay Shore contests to be particularly contentious, with the latter game ending the regular season and serving as a potential title decider.

Last Season: The Tigers rode a late-season hot streak to a 9-2-3 finish and rode their momentum -- “one of those things you can’t control,” Strasser called it –- all the way to the county quarterfinals.

In the round of 16 against Newfield, they scored twice in the first half before conceding two goals in the second and ultimately knocking in the winner in overtime, 3-2. In the quarterfinals against Commack, they got hot in the second half, narrowing a two-goal deficit but never fully compensating for a difference-making own goal in the first. They lost 2-1.

Last year the Tigers finished second. Their playoff win over Newfield, however, was still an upset: Newfield was a No. 7 seed, and Northport was seeded 10th.

Head Coach: Don Strasser

Key Players:

• Tommy DiGiglio, sophomore, midfielder
• Ryan Egan, junior, midfielder
• Tyler Carrano, sophomore, midfielder
• John Glancy, junior, midfielder

Position Breakdown: Tyler Carrano, Tommy DiGiglio, Ryan Egan, and Dillon Johnson hold onto the ball about as well as past editions of the Northport midfield, but they exceed their predecessors in speed. With the help of John Glancy and Taylor McFadzen, who will captain the Tigers alongside DiGiglio and Johnson, they expect to rely on their fitness to challenge league powers Bay Shore, Hills East, and West Islip.

Key Games:

• Oct. 4 - Northport @ Hills East, 4:30 p.m.
• Oct. 6 - West Islip @ Northport, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 10 - Northport @ Bay Shore, 10 a.m.
• Oct. 22 - Hills East @ Northport, 10 a.m.
• Oct. 25 - Northport @ West Islip, 4:30 p.m.
• Oct. 27 - Bay Shore @ Northport, 4 p.m.