Because of this, the Wildcats brought a flawless 15-0 record and a top-five ranking in New York state into the playoffs. 

After defeating Islip 4-0 in the Suffolk County Class A semifinals, Shoreham-Wading River was tasked with taking down Elwood/John Glenn in the Suffolk County championships. The two teams played just two weeks prior, closing out the regular season, and the Wildcats narrowly escaped as Zach Makarewicz scored the game-winner in overtime that sealed the league championship.

It was one of those games that needed a response — that time, the Wildcats were there. 

But in the championship, Elwood/John Glenn got their revenge. The Knights got the victory in overtime with Jake Piacentini finding the game-winner with eight minutes remaining before penalty kicks. For the first time this season, the Wildcats looked up at the scoreboard at Walt Whitman High School on Sunday to see: Knights 2, Wildcats 1. Their season ended, leaving behind questions on what could have been.

Shoreham-Wading River got on the board first with 14 minutes left in the first half as Tyler Nowaski dribbled past two defenders flanking down the left-hand side before scooting it over to the center of the goal, where Makarewicz tipped it past the goalie with finesse. It was Makarewicz’s 21st goal of the season, which landed him sixth in all of Suffolk County for goals scored in his junior campaign.

Though both teams made runs forward, there were no true opportunities to score the rest of the game. It looked as if SWR would escape with a 1-0 victory until there was a blunder on the defensive end. The ball was played into the back line, where two defenders found themselves so close together that they were unable to get enough space to get a pass by the Knights’ Isaac Perez, who came running full speed to put pressure on the ball.

Perez got his foot on the pass, and the ball leaked toward SWR’s end of the field. With free rein, the senior sprinted ahead and found a trailing, wide-open Cooper Kassan, who found the back of the net for the 30th time this season to equalize the game at 1-1.

It was a devastating blow to the Wildcats, who had all the momentum up until that point in the game. 

But the Wildcats, as they’ve done all year long, put their heads down and tried to answer. Just three minutes later, Matthew Thomsen had a chance to score on an almost wide-open net. The senior got the ball in the air on a perfect touch towards the net, only to have David Palencia, Glenn’s junior goalkeeper, dive across the net out of nowhere and make an incredible save. 

As it did in the season finale, the game between the two powerhouses went into overtime, where the Wildcats tried to manufacture the game-winner. 

“I thought we were the better team out there,” SWR head coach Dani Braga said. “I truly feel like we deserved to win that game. But honestly, I thought the officiating was very suspect today.”

Nowaski, who was a threat all game long, got a pass in the box with a defender draped all over his back in the first overtime period. As he turned to goal to try to attempt a shot, it looked as if the defender yanked him down for a clear penalty, only to get it waved away by the referee. There was also what looked like a handball in the box by the Knights later in overtime.

“There was a bunch of stuff like that over the course of the day, and I don’t know what to make of it,” Braga said. “To end the game that way with a team this talented is a tough pill to swallow right now.”

After the loss, Braga, who is in his first season coaching the Wildcats, walked around and acknowledged every player on the team with either a head embrace or a handshake. A win would have given the Wildcats their first County championship in 20 years.

“These kids have done everything I have asked of them all season,” Braga said. “They never questioned anything. They never questioned fitness. They never questioned positioning. They believed just as much in me as I believed in them. Sometimes this just game sucks.”

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Oct. 14: Shoreham-Wading River 3, John Glenn 2

In a matchup of two major soccer programs in Suffolk County, Shoreham-Wading River escaped with a 3-2 victory in overtime to seal the league championship and a perfect 15-0 record so far this year. After John Glenn scored in the first half, Zach Makarewicz scored to answer before half. The Knights took the lead again in the second half before Matthew Thomsen nailed the equalizer. In the overtime period, it was Makarewicz again that buried the game-winner from a picture perfect pass from John Zoumas. The clear number one seed heading into the playoffs, the Wildcats will await their opponent.

Oct. 11: Central Islip 4, Riverhead 2

Riverhead is still looking for their first win of the season under new coach Nic DeZenzo. In the loss against Central Islip, Riverhead scored twice for the first time this season but Jeysson Maldonado stole the show netting a hat trick in the win. Riverhead (0-11) will travel to Newfield on Friday, Oct. 17, for a 4 p.m. game in hopes of that elusive first victory. 

Field Hockey

Oct. 14: Riverhead 1, North Babylon 0 

Riverhead kept their playoff hopes alive with an overtime thriller over North Babylon. After a scoreless regular time, Julianna Kramer found the goal unassisted in overtime to seal the victory for the Blue Waves. Casey Hubbard made eight saves in the victory. Riverhead (6-6) will travel to Walt Whitman (7-4) on Thursday, Oct. 16, in a game that may make or break their season. Game time is slated for 4:45 p.m.

Oct. 9: Bayport-Blue Point 4, Shoreham-Wading River 1

After starting out the regular season 6-0, Shoreham-Wading River has struggled of late, losing their last four of five matchups. Smithtown West (10-3), Eastport-South Manor (10-1), East Islip (9-2) and now Bayport-Blue Point (12-0) have landed the Wildcats in the loss column. Cate Leonard scored the lone goal for Shoreham-Wading River (7-4). That’s their first goal in three games. The Wildcats will try to right the ship on Friday, Oct. 17, against Greenport/Southold/Mattituck. 

Football

Oct. 11: Longwood 36, Riverhead 0

Riverhead’s tough year on the gridiron continues with a 36-0 loss to Longwood on Saturday. Don Nelson’s first year as Riverhead’s head coach hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. Longwood’s Kyon Sarwari led the team in the victory with 159 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Riverhead (0-5) will host Patchogue-Medford (2-3) for homecoming this Saturday, Oct. 18, at 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 10: Miller Place 38, Shoreham-Wading River 14

After Shoreham-Wading River went into halftime leading 7-6, following a 14-yard touchdown pass from Noah Gregorek to George Greene, Miller Place took over in the second half. Miller Place’s Camryn Hardy took over the game running for 233 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Panthers to victory as they scored 32 points in the second half. Shoreham-Wading River (2-3) will travel to John Glenn (3-2) on Saturday, Oct. 18, for a 2 p.m. kick off.

Girls Soccer

Oct. 9: Islip 4, Shoreham-Wading River 3

Despite Mia Mangano’s hat trick, Islip got the better of Shoreham-Wading River in the battle of two Division III giants. The game needed overtime to decide it and it was Shea Lagiglia who found the back of the net for Islip to seal the winner. The Wildcats have already secured a playoff spot despite the loss and will finish out the regular season to determine their seeding. Shoreham-Wading River (8-2-2) will host Amityville on Saturday, Oct. 18, for a 10 a.m. game time.

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With a proven leader in new head coach Dani Braga, the Wildcats have stormed to a 12-0 start in regular-season play — and show no signs of slowing down.

“I think these guys needed a strong voice,” Braga said. “The talent on this team is unmatched. We have the ability to play with anyone, but I felt like maybe the accountability was lacking. We quickly took care of that this season.”

Since that playoff loss, SWR hasn’t dropped a single match, including summer competition in the Town of Brookhaven league, where they won the championship.

“Nobody liked how our season ended last year,” midfielder Andrew Stiene said. “That’s probably one of our worst losses in the history of the soccer program here. Every one of us that returned vowed that wouldn’t happen again.”

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The Wildcats opened the season with five consecutive shutouts, outscoring their opponents, 19-0. 

As the competition stiffened, they continued to deliver. On Sept. 27, SWR faced perennial powerhouse Garden City in a non-league matchup. Garden City, the reigning Class AA state champion, entered the game having lost just twice in four years — but left with a rare defeat after Matt Thomsen converted a penalty kick late in the first half for a 1-0 SWR victory.

“It was a major win for the program,” Braga said. “But I told the boys it doesn’t mean anything really. We want a championship. There’s no time to celebrate. We have bigger goals to accomplish this season.”

The biggest test of the season came three days later against Kings Park — the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. Feelings of revenge flowed through every player’s veins, vividly remembering the loss they suffered just a season ago.

“We all remember that like it was yesterday,” forward Zach Makarewicz said. “We wanted nothing more than to beat them and to prove that we were a better team this season.”

But early on it was a case of same-old, same-old. The Wildcats gave up two goals in the first half and were unable to find an answer — oftentimes hitting the post or sailing their shots past or over the net.

At halftime, Braga’s fiery speech echoed through the stadium. He encouraged the boys to play within themselves and make the right play. He screamed for effort, and he got it.

Makarewicz scored twice in the second half — the first goal off of a throw in that he nonchalantly tapped with his foot past the keeper and then later scored off a header following a free kick in the Kings Park zone. 

“We’ve been playing with each other since we were little kids,” Makarewicz said. “We all had trust in each other to get back in the game. I got my opportunities, and I took advantage of them.”

That was Makarewicz’s 14th and 15th goals of the season

“Makarewicz is that perfect blend of athlete and soccer player,” Braga said. “He can do things that a lot of people can’t just with his pure athleticism. His speed puts him in a position to make a play and his soccer IQ allows him to find the goals.”

The game went into the golden goal overtime. In the second ten minute period, Makarewicz rolled the ball over to Stiene, who found space and buried it in the corner of the net for the victory. Stiene ripped his shirt off in celebration and ran over to the student section to get embraced.

“Incredible moment for us,” Stiene said. “We fell behind, but nobody quit fighting. We all believed we could still win the game. I’m glad we found a way to win, but we don’t want this to be the highlight of our season. We want that championship.”

The team followed up its dramatic victory with a 7-0 rout at Sayville on Thursday, Oct. 4. Makarewicz netted a hat trick to give him 18 goals on the season, putting him second in Suffolk County.

With three games remaining on the schedule this season, the Wildcats are eyeing the Class A playoffs — and possibly the school’s first-ever state title.

“We are never going to look past the next game,” Braga said. “We’re never going to get too high or too low. To be a champion, you have to take it one game at a time. I’ve done it before as a coach, and I know what we need to do. As long as the boys buy in, which they have, the sky is the limit for this group.”

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“Last year, we felt like we had the talent to finally make the playoffs,” junior midfielder and forward Hector Calderon said. “But as the season went on and the losses started to come, it’s like we all turned on one another. We kept blaming each other and pointing the finger. It just got worse and worse.”

When the season ended, Riverhead was staring at a 2-14 overall record — wondering about what could have been.

DeZenzo comes into the program with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the sport. He’s been waiting for this opportunity and feels like he’s truly the man for the job to turn things around.

“I’ll tell you that I was pleasantly surprised when I first started working with the boys,” DeZenzo said. “They’re super talented. Young and maybe a little inexperienced, but the technical talent is definitely there.”

Only Hector Calderon returns from last year’s starting lineup, which featured mostly seniors. Calderon was a maestro in the middle of the pitch all season as a sophomore, holding possession of the soccer ball with the best of them while scoring three goals and two assists.

“Hector has really stepped up as a leader this season even though he’s only a junior,” DeZenzo said. “The boys really look up to him, and he’s been leading by example. I expect major things out of him this year both on and off the field.”

Team building exercises have been at the forefront of what DeZenzo has been trying to implement this season. Sure, there has been technical training, fitness training and formation concepts, but being a team is what he’s been putting a major emphasis on.

“Coach is really building a brotherhood here,” senior defender and midfielder Clever Herrera said. “We know that soccer isn’t an individual sport. We can only find success if all of us contribute. We need to trust each other first.”

In a training session this week, DeZenzo set up a step ladder in the middle of the field and asked the team to set up a row of players along each side of it. The coaches stepped up to the top first and all the players held out their arms. Crossing his arms from the top of the ladder, DeZenzo fell backwards and was caught by the team. Assistant coach Kevin Ghigliotti went afterward. Then each of the players took their turn.

“It’s a powerful experience,” DeZenzo said. “We want to show them first that we trust them. It goes a long way for the boys to hear that but to see it and feel it with this exercise makes a much larger impact.”

DeZenzo also sent a Phil Jackson quote to all of the boys during the week. The quote reads, “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the ‘me’ for the ‘we.’”

Part of that trust is instilled with knowing what each player’s job is on the field in every moment of the game. DeZenzo spent a good portion of practice explaining that all everyone has to do is perform their job. The instant someone tries to do too much, the whole plan falls apart.

“We all want to get better,” junior defender and midfielder Chris Contreras said. “This is the most connected we’ve ever been as a team since I’ve joined the soccer program here. We don’t want the negative energy, and I believe it’s gone now. We still have to hold each other accountable but as brothers, not as rivals.”

Riverhead opens up its season Sunday, Sept. 3, at home against William Floyd.

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With most of the unit returning from last year — a year older and a year wiser — the group has aspirations to reach the pinnacle. 

“We’re going to states,” SWR summer league coach John Steine said. “These kids have played with each other forever and always said when they got to the high school level that they would win a state title. This was going to be their year. With the level of skill they have as a group, they know they have a shot.”

The Wildcats came into Monday night with a 4-0 record in the TOB Boys Small School Varsity league, already defeating the likes of Mt. Sinai, Sayville, Rocky Point and Mattituck, but their true test would be against their yearly rival, John Glenn High School, which also happened to be undefeated. 

“It’s always been Shoreham-Wading River and John Glenn fighting to determine who the best team in our division is,” Steine said. “Some years they get us and other years we get them. It’s always a great game and highly competitive.”

Though both teams were undefeated, the Wildcats were only winning their summer league games by one or two goals. John Glenn’s scores, however, were much more lopsided. Coming into the Monday night matchup against the two teams, the Knights scored 23 goals in four contests while only allowing one goal during the stretch. On paper, it looked like John Glenn was the better team. SWR was also missing top goal scorers from last year in Zach Makarewicz (15 goals) and Tyler Nowaski (10 goals) who were out with injury or other obligations, but that didn’t phase them.

Under the lights at Medford Athletic Complex, with an impending storm in the forecast, both teams spent the entire first half feeling out one another, pushing the ball in both directions with no clear chances to score. Andrew Steine was a menace in the midfield, controlling possession and coming up with big plays to stop any momentum John Glenn had going forward. If the ball happened to get to the defense, Aiden De Collibus and Matthew Thomsen quickly stepped in and dealt with any John Glenn forward making a push.

“It was a full team effort,” Steine said. “The defense, the midfield, the forwards — it was a full team effort.”

As a light rain started to sprinkle down, Thomsen broke the deadlock midway through the second half, smashing it past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0. It was the Wildcats that delivered the lightning before the game ended a few minutes early because of a strike seen in the distance. Though John Glenn fought to the finish, they never got a good opportunity to score the rest of the game as the Wildcats vaulted to the top of the league with a 5-0 record.

“This is absolutely momentum you can take into the school season,” Steine said. “Every win is important and that’s how our mentality has been all summer long so far. These kids aren’t going to be able to play soccer forever, so we want to enjoy this experience. It’s going to be a super fun year for these guys.”

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When he got hired as a fifth grade teacher in Riverhead Central School district four years ago, he reached out to Athletic Director Brian Sacks and expressed his interest in coaching the soccer team if the job ever opened up.

“I introduced myself, gave him my coaching resume and said that it would be a dream of mine to be able to coach a team in the district I teach in,” DeZenzo said. “But I didn’t want to step on any toes. Evan Philcox was there, and all I ever heard about was how great a job he was doing there and how he created a better culture, so I put it on the back burner. But when he decided to step away from the job in January, I knew I had to put in for [it].”

DeZenzo’s soccer resume speaks for itself. He’s played professionally, coached at a collegiate level, and coached travel teams and high school teams alike from New Hampshire and Massachusetts — where he is originally from — to Long Island.  

After four years playing soccer at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H., the last of which he earned the 2007-2008 Colby-Sawyer Athlete of the Year, DeZenzo went to Australia to start his professional soccer career. He played a year for the Kangaroo Point Rovers in Brisbane, then came back home to play for the Mass Twisters in the Major Indoor Soccer League for a year, before returning to Brisbane for his final professional season as a member of the Bayside United Football Club. He was named vice-captain during his time at Bayside.

“From a playing standpoint, it was amazing,” DeZenzo said. “I was exposed to different countries and learned how they played the game and how they coached the game.”

Though he had an opportunity to stay another year and play in Brisbane, he wanted to come back home to his family and get into education and coaching.

“I come from a long line of educators,” DeZenzo said. “My mother was a teacher, and my grandmother was a teacher. I knew teaching was always my true calling.”

While in Australia, DeZenzo got a call from a high school coach of one of the teams he used to play against growing up. Within a week, he was on the field at the Tilton School in Tilton, N.H., for a variety of roles over the next four years.

After earning his NSCAA National Diploma and Director of Coaching Certification in 2014, DeZenzo landed a job as an assistant coach for the women’s Division I soccer program at University of New Hampshire. During his tenure there, the team won their first America East Championship in school history.

The University of New Hampshire position allowed him an opportunity to show his worth and ended up landing a job as the head women’s soccer coach at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, N.Y. It was one of the reasons DeZenzo decided to move to Long Island, aside from the fact that his wife, Analiese, was born and raised in Hauppauge.

“I always knew we were going to move down here eventually,” DeZenzo said. “Once I got a job at St. Joseph’s, it’s like the straw that broke the camel’s back. And we’ve been here ever since.”

In his first season at St. Joseph’s College, the team won its first conference championship in school history. 

After his time as St. Joseph’s, DeZenzo returned to high school soccer to coach The Knox School, a private school in Nissequogue. The team hadn’t won a game in five years before he came to the program. In his first season that trend continued; they went 0-12. But the in the years after, they made the playoffs and went all the way to the semifinals two years in a row. DeZenzo was named Private School Athletic Association Coach of the Year in both seasons.

DeZenzo has been coaching in the travel club soccer space leading up to this opportunity at Riverhead. “It’s been fun traveling all over the country for soccer,” DeZenzo said. “But my kids are getting older, and it’s time I’m home on the weekends.”

Riverhead posted a 2-14 record last season, but DeZenzo believes the talent is there. 

“I’ve been getting calls from other travel coaches congratulating me on getting the job here,” DeZenzo said. “They’ve also had very high praise for the kids we have here at the program already, so that’s amazing to hear.”

Wins are the ultimate goal for this program, but winning starts at the youth levels, and DeZenzo is committing to being part of it every step of the way.

“I’ve been in touch with the coaches at Riverhead F.C., a travel team out here, and have gone to practices, which is a great way for local kids to get exposure,” DeZenzo said. “But we need more. We need these kids to be connected before they get [to] the high school level. I am going to build this thing from the ground up. In our first training sessions, we gathered about 100 kids from every level. It was my first glimpse of what we have here, and I came away very encouraged.”

Though Riverhead may not win a championship in their first year like his other stops on his coaching tree, it’s a blank slate with plenty of history to be made in the years to come. If history has anything to say, maybe there is a championship in Riverhead’s future. 

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His coaches and teammates on the Shoreham-Wading River boys soccer team can see it.

“He routinely frustrates players in practice,” coach Rob Mancuso said. “You know, we say, ‘All right, we score three, we go home.’ We’re there for another 20, 30 minutes if he’s in net.”

Rose was frustrating players Thursday, only this time those players were wearing Elwood/John Glenn uniforms. Among Kyle the keeper’s eight saves in the Suffolk County Class A quarterfinal in East Northport were a couple that could be categorized as excellent. Yet, in the end, the junior’s standout performance wasn’t enough to prevent a 2-1 Glenn triumph.

All three goals were scored in the final 17 minutes, 34 seconds. Matt Pepper broke a 1-1 tie with his winning strike with 8:42 remaining, sending fourth-seeded Glenn (14-2-1) to a semifinal against No. 1 Amityville or No. 8 Islip Monday.

The loss snapped fifth-seeded SWR’s nine-game win streak in which the Wildcats (12-4-1) outscored opponents, 39-3.

“I couldn’t have asked for any more,” right back Tanner Cummings said. “Every game these guys have just fought their hearts out every time.”

And the Wildcats did so again. A lesser team might have had the wind taken out of its sails when Anthony Randazzo drilled a 25-yard free kick into the net for a 1-0 Glenn lead. But Owen Caraftis headed in a right-wing cross from Ryan Menno for an equalizer. It seemed as if overtime was in the offing.

Pepper saw to it that it wasn’t, though. Just 2:08 after Caraftis’ goal, Pepper pounded the ball home after Xavier Rosado, working in tight quarters, tapped a pass to him.

Desperate SWR managed three shots after that, including one from a break down the left wing by Nick Nowak, whose shot was saved by Chris Flores.

It would have been a different match if not for some spectacular stops by Rose. His best of the day was brilliant. Less than seven minutes in, Eli Tyll produced a forceful header from a corner kick by Rosado that didn’t give Rose much time to react. No matter, he sprang to his right and punched the ball aside.

With SWR trailing, 1-0, Randazzo struck a dangerously swerving 25-yard free kick from the left wing. The ball was earmarked for the right side of the net, but Rose made a great diving stop to his left, knocking it aside for a corner kick.

“They were great, but really, he’s the backbone of the team,” said Cummings, who captains the Wildcats along with fellow seniors Luke Gorman, Menno and Nowak. “Honestly, we probably wouldn’t have gotten this far without him.”

Mancuso said Rose is “unbelievable. He’s an incredibly talented goalkeeper. He has been for a while. We saw it with him coming up freshman year. You know, we’re lucky enough to have a couple of very talented goalkeepers on our squad [junior Killian O’Reilly is the other one]. But yeah, I thought he played an incredible game, really kept us in it.”

Asked after the game if he had felt sharp, Rose said: “I thought I played well. I wish I could have done better.”

It was on this same field that Glenn throttled SWR, 6-1, on Sept. 17.

“That 6-1 loss was kind of a turning point for us,” Mancuso said. “From that I think we had a win, a loss and then just kind of hit our stride.”

Glenn plays its home matches on a grass field, whereas SWR’s home pitch is a turf field. Did the grass field take SWR out of its normal ground passing game?

“We don’t really think it takes us out of the game,” Mancuso said. “You have to be able to play on both surfaces. We have both surfaces in Suffolk. I personally would take a nice grass field over a turf field, but I like the way the game is played on it. But I don’t think that’s really an excuse.”

Some of the Wildcats visibly took the loss hard and Mancuso consoled them.

“I’m incredibly proud of them,” he said. “You know, I couldn’t ask for more from this team. I think they push themselves and, you know, overcame a little bit of a rocky start [to the season] to really put something special together. It’s a shame it has to stop here.”

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Thomas Daggett took that understanding to heart and used his head — literally — as Shoreham-Wading River opened its sixth straight postseason in dramatic fashion Monday night.

A well-executed Daggett header lifted fifth-seeded SWR to a 2-1 sudden-victory overtime triumph over No. 12 Westhampton Beach in a Suffolk County Class A Tournament first-round match. The junior planted his third goal of the season from a ball delivered by Ryan Menno 1 minute, 14 seconds into overtime at fog-covered Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field in Shoreham.

“I won the ball and then I just made a run,” Daggett said, describing his first game-winner for SWR (12-3-1). “I wanted the game to end and I saw an opening in the back. Ryan Menno crossed it and I just finished it, back [of] the net. The best goal of my life. The best feeling. I’m a center back, so I don’t really get to score much, so this feeling is awesome.”

Daggett has a reputation for being good on headers.

“He’s great in the air,” said coach Rob Mancuso.

Daggett’s goal settled a game SWR was unfortunate not to have won in regulation time.

All three of the game’s goals were of high quality. The nicest of them all, unquestionably, came off Owen Caraftis’ right boot. A loose ball floated across the Westhampton Beach goal area to the left side, where it was met by a brilliant Caraftis scissors kick for a 1-0 lead with 3:08 left in the first half.

“The ball got popped up off someone’s head and I just went for it,” said Caraftis.

The junior center midfielder said he had tried to score on scissors kicks on two prior occasions this season. “I hit the crossbar and the goalie saved the other one,” he said. “I knew the third one just had to go in.”

The Hurricanes’ tying goal was a work of art, too. Kade Murphree played a ball along the left sideline for Ethan Vogt, who drove a centering pass that Chance Brindle put away with an open look at goal. There was not much goalkeeper Kyle Rose could do.

This was clearly not the same Westhampton Beach team that SWR had routed, 7-0, on Sept. 15. Mancuso called Westhampton Beach “honestly, probably one of the scariest lower seeds in the playoffs.” He said, “That goal that they scored is one of the more impressive goals I’ve seen in high school.”

SWR has won nine straight games, six of those shutouts. Over that span, the Wildcats have outcored teams, 39-3.

SWR was unfortunate not to have scored more goals Monday. Early on, Menno looped a ball forward for the onrushing Nicholas Nowak, who slammed a hard shot off the left goalpost.

Westhampton Beach goalkeeper Alex Ajiataz played a superb match, despite taking a kick to his midsection while diving to punch away a ball that deflected off a teammate and was headed toward the low right corner of the goal in the first half. “Their keeper had one of the better games I’ve seen on a high school field,” said Mancuso.

SWR had three golden scoring opportunities in the final 12:30 of the second half: Nowak nudged a ball just feet wide of the right post; Caraftis cranked a shot off a corner kick, only to be denied by a first-class reflex save by Ajiataz; and Daggett met a free kick 43 yards away from goal by Menno with a blast over the crossbar with a little over a minute left in regulation time.

On to overtime, when anything can happen.

“One goal puts your whole season away and we just couldn’t have that happen to us,” said Daggett, one of many SWR players who bleached their hair blond in a show of unity.

SWR had the better of Westhampton Beach (5-10-1) in possession. That was reflected by SWR’s 14-3 superiority in shots and 13-0 advantage in corner kicks.

SWR advances to a quarterfinal Thursday at No. 4 Elwood/John (13-2-1). Glenn was a 6-1 winner over SWR on Sept. 17.

The playoffs are a different animal than the regular season. With the pressure and intensity, everything is magnified — including a coach’s stress level.

Said a relieved Mancuso, “It was fun to watch and I’m sure I’ll feel that way after my heart rate goes down.”

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And, if that is the case, that is just fine with SWR, which was delighted with the result of the non-league game. Nick Nowak bagged a hat trick and an assist, Owen Caraftis had two assists and Ryan Menno supplied a goal and an assist for the Wildcats in their 4-0 blanking of a quality Jericho team at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field in Shoreham.

The soccer on both sides was well-played. SWR (8-3-1) was on its game, playing with purpose, using one- and two-touch passing to play balls to feet.

With the playoffs fast approaching, it was just the sort of preparation SWR was looking for.

“I think we moved the ball exceptionally well,” said SWR coach Rob Mancuso, whose team will make a sixth straight appearance in the playoffs. “We’ve really grown into that this season and, you know, the numbers kind of show it. We played the ball on the ground well. We filled in spaces where we needed to be. We were aggressive to the first and second ball. I couldn’t be happier.”

It’s easy to be happy, too, when a team has a senior striker like Nowak, a clinical finisher with pace.

With Saturday’s tallies, Nowak has 12 goals to go with four assists this season, his third as a varsity starter.

“I’m not gonna lie,” Mancuso said. “We kind of expected it from him. He’s been a special player for a while.”

“He played right back when he was a sophomore and then last year and this year, we’ve used more up top,” the coach continued. “He’s just incredibly fast and he has a great touch on the ball. His first touch is just soft and close to him. And you can see when he puts his head down and focuses, he finishes.”

Asked if scoring goals brings him joy, a grinning Nowak replied, “It always puts a smile on my face.”

Nowak scored the game’s first two goals within 2 minutes, 48 seconds of each other in the first half. The first one was a beauty. Nowak ran onto a ball Menno laid forward for him on the right flank, nailing a low, right-footed attempt in off the far left goalpost. His second goal was a left-footer to the low right side.

But Nowak’s third goal, which made it 4-0 with 2:44 left in the second half, was memorable as well. Caraftis played a ball forward on the right wing that the charging Nowak caught up to before curling an extreme-angle shot with not much of a target. It hit the net.

“Some luck,” Nowak said modestly.

“That was a great goal,” Mancuso said, “and, honestly, his shot from about 25, 30 yards out, he absolutely smoked.”

Earlier, Menno made it 3-0 with his eighth goal of the season. Nowak fed the ball to Menno, who turned quickly and fired home.

SWR outshot Jericho (6-6-1) by 24-5 and claimed seven of the game’s eight corner kicks.

Jericho is coached by Dani Braga, a Shoreham resident who lives close enough to the SWR field that he could have walked there.

SWR’s starting back four of Ben Panasci, Tanner Cummings, Thomas Daggett and Luke Gorman helped the team post its sixth shutout of the season. Goalkeepers Kyle Rose and Killian O’Reilly split the shutout.

“I think it just proves that we can compete with teams like Jericho and other high-level teams in Suffolk and Nassau,” said Menno.

SWR had a slow start to the season, including a 6-1 loss at Elwood/John Glenn.

“It was a little bit of a rough start, but I think we definitely took it as lessons to learn and I think we don’t want to lose from here on out,” Nowak said. “We learned our lessons and we’re ready to win.”

SWR won a league championship last year before being eliminated by Glenn in a county quarterfinal.

“I think they have all the potential in the world,” Mancuso said. “I think their potential is sky-high. As long as they’re working to realize it, I can’t see anybody getting in their way.”

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All these years later, Arias may be headed to a professional soccer career. In the meantime, the 15-year-old sophomore is playing for Riverhead High School.

Arias said he, his family and agent are waiting for Major League Soccer teams to contact him with offers. “Just being patient and we’ll see from there because [I] just need better opportunities for me and my family,” he said.

Arias spent three years each in the academies of MLS’s two New York metropolitan area clubs, the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC. Now he’s hoping to take his game to the next level.

While the waiting game continued, Arias approached Riverhead coach Evan Philcox several practices into the preseason and asked if he could play for the Blue Waves. “My jaw dropped,” Philcox said, “and I was like, ‘Yeah, sure we can do that. We can make that happen.’ ”

Arias was originally slotted in as a right back, the thought being that when he does sign an MLS contract, his eventual departure would not be as disruptive to the Blue Waves. That lasted for one scrimmage before Riverhead worked him into the midfield. Right midfield is his natural position.

Then, with Riverhead in a scoring slump, Philcox moved Arias to forward Friday and Arias responded with his team-leading fifth goal of the season in a 3-3 draw in 100 minutes of soccer against visiting Sachem North at Pulaski Sports Complex.

Riverhead’s goal drought ended, along with a four-game losing streak.

Rivera’s goal off an Arias corner kick with 18 minutes, 39 seconds left in the second half ultimately forced two additional 10-minute overtime periods.

The Suffolk County League II game had a bit of everything — yellow cards (seven, five to the Sachem North side), plenty of shots (22 by each team), big saves, injury stoppages, action, a fan ejection and, of course, a healthy dose of goals.

Riverhead (2-8-1, 0-5-1) entered the game having not scored a goal in over four hours of soccer. That scoreless streak came to an end when Arias levelled the score, 1-1, at 22:55. Arias spun after receiving a pass in midfield from Leo Chinchilla and bolted 40 yards before applying a right-footed finish past goalkeeper Chris Lally.

Sophomore defender Oscar Serafico broke his leg in Riverhead’s previous game, a 1-0 loss at Newfield two days earlier.

“Last night I went to Oscar’s house,” Arias said. “I told him I’m gonna score one of the best goals I ever scored in my life and I did.”

Riverhead pulled itself back in the game in the second half. Arias drew a foul and his 30-yard free kick was deflected, allowing Tawayne Hinds the opportunity to strike at 50:13.

Sachem North (3-4-3, 1-2-2) received goals from Brayden Verbanac, Zach DeMilt and Evan Kozak.

Riverhead goalkeeper Gerardo Tespan played a tremendous game. Among the senior’s nine saves were some gems. Verbanac had a clear shot at goal in the first half, only to see Tespan block it with a foot save. In the second half, Tespan once again denied Verbanac on a point-blank attempt and took a boot in the face for it. Less than two minutes into the first overtime, Tespan made a spectacular parry of a Kozak shot.

Arias has magic feet, a powerful left foot and confidence. “Every time he’s on the ball, he’s cutting someone up, dribbling past players, finding the right paths, you know, threading the needle sometimes and he scores great goals,” Riverhead central defender and captain Declan Purcell said. “He had a couple from 35 yards this year. He’s just insane. His touch is like silk.”

Arias said: “I actually want to get better every single day. I don’t take any days off.”

That’s something a coach can appreciate. Philcox said that even as a sophomore Arias “takes such a leadership role. And it’s such a luxury to have your best player also be one of the hardest working guys and not a goof-off who’s just resting on his ability and, you know, ‘Let me just show off.’ ”

One day Arias may be playing before much larger crowds in an MLS uniform.

“I would love that,” Philcox said. “I wouldn’t be surprised because of the way that he works with his work ethic like that. That will take you wherever you’re trying to go.”

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