Southampton earns state bid despite county final loss
A late goal against Babylon cost the top-seeded Mariners the title, but a new rotation system secured their place in the subregional round.
By Anthony Lawson ·
The top-seeded Southampton boys soccer team lost the Suffolk County Class B Championship on Friday afternoon, yet they will still advance to the state tournament.
Babylon, the third-seeded Panthers, defeated the Mariners 2-1 at Harborfields High School in Greenlawn. This victory marks Babylon's seventh consecutive county title.
The loss did not end Southampton's season because of a rule change implemented last year by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The association introduced at-large bids for boys soccer for the first time.
The new system uses a three-region rotation to distribute at-large berths among the six different classes. This year, those classes include AA and B.
Southampton secured the Class B at-large bid before Friday's match by winning the county semifinal against Center Moriches. That win guaranteed their spot in the state bracket regardless of the final result.
Babylon now has a choice for their next match. The Panthers can play in the Long Island Championship against Carle Place on Tuesday, or travel upstate to Windsor High School to face Section IV Champion Chenango Forks.
Babylon selected the Long Island Championship. Southampton must travel four and a half hours upstate to play Chenango Forks on Wednesday. A win would send Southampton to the quarterfinals against the winner of the match between Allegany-Limestone and Livonia.
Head coach Dave Riley framed the Friday loss as a motivational tool for the upcoming trip. "We've got to turn this upset into a set-up," Riley said. "Use it to motivate us."
Senior co-captain James Garvin acknowledged the team's frustration. "We're definitely very upset. It's not the outcome that we wanted," Garvin said. He noted that Babylon played a very experienced team that had been in this position before.
Southampton controlled the ball for the first 20 to 25 minutes. Garvin had a shot on goal just over 10 minutes in. Babylon took a 1-0 lead with 14 minutes and 8 seconds remaining in the first half.
The goal came off a throw-in. Babylon senior Carter Palmieri sent the ball into the box. Danny Murphy, a senior co-captain for Babylon, took a step and shot the ball into the right half of the goal.
The score remained 1-0 until 13 minutes and 22 seconds left in regulation. Southampton senior goalie Oscar Strickland played a long ball into the box. He intended to pass to a teammate but left the ball open for Babylon junior Brenden McCarthy to steal. McCarthy dribbled around Strickland and scored on the open net to make the game 2-0 for Babylon late in the match. The Mariners never gave up. Garvin found junior Ulisses Lopez Silva, who scored with 6.3 seconds remaining to make the final score 2-1. Lopez Silva had scored the double-overtime game-winner against Center Moriches in the county semis. Riley said he was glad the team fought to the final seconds. "I think we've got some fine-tuning to do, and what happened the last game, it exposed some things that we can do better," Riley said. Southampton and Babylon could meet in an All-Suffolk state final. Riley said, "I think that could be a great state final match." Garvin said Babylon's defense was tough to crack and contested every shot. "It was just hard getting past them," he said. "When we beat one man, there was another man stepping in. I will give total credit to one of their center backs. He was always there. He was always making an impact, and we needed to filter that out."
