William Floyd Boys Varsity Soccer Poised to Make Noise in Playoffs
Mastic Beach, NY - October 11, 2017 - The William Floyd Colonials boys varsity soccer team is in the midst of their best season in decades, which saw them clinch a playoff spot for the third consecutive year and upset Commack (ranked No. 3 in NYS at the time) in a thrilling double-overtime victory. They also cracked the New York State Sportswriters Association Class AA New York State rankings in September (No. 19) for the first time. Led by head coach Paul Paniccia, assistant coaches Desmond Megna and Jeff Cronk, along with a talented roster of student-athletes, the Colonials hope to finish out their final three games of the season on a high note with matches against Patchogue-Medford, Longwood and Sachem North.
Sitting in third place in League I with a 9-3-1 overall record (7-3-1/League), the Colonials have a tremendous group of starters coupled with a deep and talented bench who continue to step up and perform along with the rest of their teammates when called upon.
“All of our players are healthy, ready and rested for the first time in a while,” said Coach Paniccia. “I believe we are just starting to peak at the perfect time.”
Playoff seeding will take place after the regular season finale. Coach Paniccia is hopeful that the team will get a good seed to have an opportunity to showcase their talent to the home crowd.
“The boys are playing with so much confidence right now - they know that they have the capability of beating anyone at any time,” said Coach Paniccia. “After an unfortunate last-minute loss against Brentwood last week, the rallying cry has been ‘No More!’ as in no more losses in 2017. “They have very high expectations and we believe in them.”
Team members include: Mert Altun, Elvin Carranza, Thomas Castaneda, Roberto Cifentes, Joseph Ditillo, Giovanni Fiore, Anthony Garcia, Jefferson Guerra, Erik Guzman, Ethan Loarca, Danny Lombardo, Yorlin Mancada, Dylan Maceroni, Brian Martinez, Evan Meinke, Chris Muchow, Sebastian Paniccia, Nick Pantelidis, Gavin Samuelsen, Sebastian Sosa, Kevin Stirber, Jonathan Vanagas, Ty Walker, Justin Wheeler and Elgar Velasquez.