No.1 Sayville Advances to Class A Finals with Win Over Miller Place

It was the one team that seemingly had their number the past few years. The Sayville team had been eliminated from the playoffs by Miller Place the past two years, and this regular season the Panthers were the only team to beat the Golden Flashes.

The stage was set on Tuesday night as No.1 Sayville and No.5 Miller Place had another showdown in the semifinals of the Suffolk Class A playoffs. This time, it was the Golden Flashes who came out on top in a 2-0 victory to turn the tables on the Panthers and eliminate them from the playoffs.

"This game meant so much more," senior Travis Redding said. "They've beat us in recent years in the playoffs and knocked us out, which is the worst feeling ever so it's nice to do it back to them for once."

The Golden Flashes knew they had to key on two Panthers in particular; midfielder Jake Scavetta and leading scorer Nick Parrella. It was Redding who took care of Scavetta in the midfield, while junior Dakota Edwards drew the assignment of stopping Parrella.

"I got to mark the best player and didn't let him score so that was a big factor," Edwards said. "I just had to stay in front of him, play my game, let him do his moves just don't let him shoot and I did a good job of that. It was the game of the year for us."

Edwards not only played well on the defensive end but also assisted on the two goals scored by senior Sean Fullam. In the 17th minute, Edwards sent a cross to Fullam who snuck it past MP's keeper Kevin Labarbera for the game's first goal. In the 32nd minute of the first half, Edwards' free kick again found the feet of Fullam who scored on a sliding kick to give the Golden Flashes a 2-0 lead.

The two goals were all they needed as Edwards did a good job containing Parrella while Redding and the Golden Flashes were taking care of Scavetta and the rest of the Panthers in key midfield matchups.

"Winning 50/50 balls was the key," Redding said. "We were able to shut down Scavetta which helped us out a lot as we were able to win balls in the midfield."

The only two goals Sayville allowed during the regular season came in the 2-0 loss to on Sept. 28. Sayville keeper Daniel Scheck continued his great season in net with yet another shutout Tuesday night.

"We faced our demons with Miller Place tonight," head coach Val Winter said. "They're an excellent team. A very skilled team and they play basically the same way we do. It was a tough game I'm just happy we came out on the winning end of it."

With Miller Place behind them, Sayville now focuses its attention on a Suffolk Class A Finals matchup with No.2 Elwood-John Glenn, which defeated No.6 Islip 5-0 Tuesday to set up the showdown between the top two seeds.

"We have to play even harder than today," Redding said. "Glenn's a good team. They're going to be tough as well so we have to give our all."