The Stony Brook School Bears

Today, on a bright, 72-degree afternoon, the boys’ soccer team dispatched Long Island Lutheran in the PSAA Semifinals, 7-0, to punch their second finals ticket in the last three seasons. The victory also helped the Bears dispel the bitter taste of last year’s home semifinal loss to Avenues.

Before taking the pitch today, the Bears last saw game action 17 days ago in an 8-0 win over the Crusaders. Numerous factors conspired against the Bears playing the last two games on their schedule, leading to the uncharacteristically lengthy layoff. But the team showed little rust as they again jumped on LuHi early en route to their fifth straight win over the Crusaders.

Less than three minutes in Luqman Bare nearly put the Bears ahead, but a quality stop from the keeper kept the Bears at bay. Four minutes later Bare was taken down in the box, leading to a Mo Romeus penalty kick that put the Bears up for good. Romeus followed that up with a dynamic run that resulted in a goal off the left post, courtesy of a pass from Dennis Yilmaz. Bare extended the lead to 3-0 and 4-0 with a pair of goals at the 18:17 and 9:09 marks, and the rout was on. Justine Zakayo capped the first half scoring with just 45 seconds left as the Brook carried a 5-0 lead into the break.

As the late afternoon shadows stretched across Fitch Field, the Bear attack continued. LuHi stood tall for the first 18 minutes, repelling the offensive waves, but David Zhang broke through with a score at the 22-minute mark after receiving a pass from Bare. Jayson Amin scored perhaps the goal of the day, closing the barrage with 11:30 remaining when he glanced the ball off the near-side post and past the diving keeper for a beautiful strike.

The defense recorded their third clean sheet in the last three games as Lemuel Kutame, Ryahn Kahn, and Jackson Petroske combined for the shutout in goal. Stephen Cisz and Joe Spreckels stood tall, chasing down numerous balls in the backfield.

The Bears move on to the PSAA Championship on Friday at 2:00pm at Cantiague Park vs. Staten Island Academy.

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On Saturday, on a schizophrenic afternoon that packed in weather from all four seasons, the boys’ soccer team improved to 4-0 on the season with an 8-0 victory over Long Island Lutheran. It is the Bears’ fourth straight victory over the Crusaders, dating back to the 2018 PSAA Championship.

The Bears’ potent offense, which has outscored opponents 34-3 over its first four games, set the tone early when Daniel Kim sent a lovely through-ball to Malik Ulysse who crossed to Luqman Bare at the 36:51 mark. Mo Romeus followed five minutes later by placing a free kick in the left side netting from just outside the box for a 2-0 lead. At 26:44 the lead grew when Romeus played a ball wide to Jovan Haynes whose cross led to a Dennis Yilmaz strike. Less than four minutes later, Yilmaz sent a ball from the right wing into Bare who buried it in the top shelf for a 4-0 edge at 22:56. Though the waves of Bear attacks continued unabated, that completed the first half scoring.

Tiger Winston began the second half scoring with a lefty goal at the 22:39 mark. Romeus scored off of his own rebound with 12:15 left, Bare completed his hat trick with a blast at 7:32, and Romeus rung up his own trifecta with a final notch at 5:09 to complete the scoring barrage. Though largely untested due to the Bears’ dominant play in the middle of the field, Lemuel Kutame and Jackson Petroske combined for a shutout in goal.

While the scoring appears outlandish, it was less a product of a LuHi team weakened by several key graduations, than it was about the Bears’ level of execution and their ability to continuously create meaningful opportunities.

The Bears are back in action on Monday in a home Senior Day match-up vs. Staten Island Academy that will be a major factor in determining the regular season champion.

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