Super Y League Feature

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

BRADENTON, Fla. – When Tuesday’s U16 title game in the 2015 Super Y League National Finals went to penalty kicks, Shoreline FC Head Coach Danny Simpson did not want to watch.

“I was in the bathroom. I never saw them,” Simpson said. “I’ve lost enough penalty kicks as an Englishman to want to watch them all.”

This was the first time Simpson pulled off such an act, and considering the result, he might be on to something.

After a wild match against DDYSC Wolves that led to a 2-2 score through regulation and a 3-3 stalemate through overtime, Connecticut-based Shoreline earned a 4-2 win in penalty kicks to claim its first SYL national title.

Goalkeeper Will Marment stepped up to save the first PK by Lagos Kunga and another DDYSC attempt sailed over the crossbar. Shoreline’s Mikey Levene scored the game-winning PK and teammates Sean Gallagher, Pablo Martinez and Aaron Shahriari each converted their attempts.

“What a final,” Simpson said. “What a great team we just played there. Their ball skills, their movement, the way they interchange, [for DDYSC Wolves] to go 2-0 up as well – we knew they scored a lot of goals. There’s some determination in this team.”

“It could have gone either way,” Marment said. “They were a quality team. They move the ball really well and have good shape. We matched them physically and that’s what we wanted to do. We just kept focused, were mentally prepared and we went into the shootout, and the lads stepped up when they needed to.”

Shoreline and DDYSC were scoreless through the first half, but the Wolves gained the upper hand with a Kunga strike from a difficult angle, followed by a Shoreline own goal to go down 2-0 early in the second half.

It could have been a big setback in the grand scheme of things, but Shoreline’s players remained focused.

“In the group stages we had a very similar thing where we had to win and we were down 2-1 with five minutes to go,” Marment said. “It’s a credit to the lads that they never dropped their heads. We stayed up and kept playing on. That’s all you have to do at that point. You can’t let your head drop.”

“We said whatever the adversity, you’ve got to remain calm,” Simpson said. “If you go up, remain calm. If you go down, remain calm. Whatever the adversity, play to the end and you’ll never know what’s going to happen.”

Biagio Paoletta got his team on the score sheet and Martinez tied the score at 2-2 when he converted a penalty kick to force overtime. The momentum carried over with Chris Sheehan heading home a goal in the first 10-minute period for a 3-2 advantage.

Then in the closing minutes of the second 10-minute period, the Wolves struck again with Lagos slotting home his shot inside the far right post to tie the score at 3-3.

Lagos was DDYC Wolves’ first penalty taker, and Marment lunged correctly to his left to make an early save and set the tone for Shoreline, which held the advantage the rest of the way in PKs.

“Personally, it’s a great achievement, but credit to all the guys,” Marment said. “It’s a full team effort. I did what I had to do. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Simpson and the team wanted to dedicate their efforts to an in-state tragedy that took place several years ago in Connecticut.

“We said today, before the game, that we were going to dedicate today to the Sandy Hook tragedy that was three years yesterday,” Simpson said, referring to the elementary school shooting in nearby Newtown, Conn. “We were doing this for the state. We were doing this for Connecticut, and we were doing it for Sandy Hook, which is about 20 minutes from us back in Connecticut. That never-say-die spirit showed. I’m so proud of the boys.”

Additional SYL National Finals Results:
U18 Boys Championship – Met Oval 2, Ironbound SC 0: Met Oval scored a goal in each half to earn the title as Dayo Adeosun and Alexis Santa each found the back of the net. The game also marked Met Oval’s third clean sheet of the tournament, having also posted shutout wins against Rochester Soccer Club and A3 Soccer during the group stage.

U14 Boys Championship – Kalamazoo Kingdom 1, Miramar United Elite FC 0 (OT): Dylan Sing scored the game-winning goal and goalkeeper Owen Finnerty anchored the back for the shutout as Kalamazoo earned the U14 title. Kalamazoo won all five of its games during the tournament.