Sports

Late Goal Helps Mineola Soccer Slip Past Rams

Mustangs avenge first loss of season with goal in the final minutes against Clarke.

After Mineola suffered its , the Mustangs (5-1-0, 3-1-0) rebounded with a 1-0 win against Clarke (1-4-0, 0-3-0) on Saturday.

“We got to get the guys who are supposed to be scoring to start scoring, so sometimes it is better to be lucky than good,” Mineola Coach Paul Pereira said. “In the second, half, they didn’t really have any chances. I am confident in my defense that they will always keep us in games.” 

Mineola defenseman Daniel Muller scored on a corner kick cross from Daniel Pardo with just 12 minutes remaining to give his team the narrow win over the Rams.

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“I just came around the back and am always free there pretty much,” said Muller, who scored in the game against Island Trees as well. “For the last three years, we’ve had the same solid defense playing.”

Clarke looked in control for the first 20 minutes, limiting Mineola's chances, and senior Anthony Zaino nearly scored late in the opening half.

Find out what's happening in Mineolawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mineola threatened to take a lead with multiple chances in the final seconds, but the two sides went into halftime with a scoreless tie.

With the Mineola defense, led by Muller and Andre Cancelinha on the corners stepping up and shutting down the Clarke forwards, their side made a move. After a near goal in the 65th minute, Muller stepped up in the box and headed in a perfect cross past Clarke goalkeeper Matt Schwartz.

“We played one of the teams that’s ranked top-10 in the state and held them scoreless for 68 minutes,” Clarke Coach Matt Germaine said. “It was a very physical game. We just had one let down defensively and unfortunately it cost us for that goal.”

Mineola stands in second place in the conference, while Clarke still searching for a league win despite numerous strong efforts.

Mineola will play next against Roosevelt (1-1-0, 1-1-0) at home on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Clarke will travel to Seaford (2-2-0, 1-1-0) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.


1 2 F Mineola 0 1 1 Clarke 0 0 0

 

Scoring Summary



Player Position Goals Assists Minute Danny Muller
Defenseman 1 0 48


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