I caught some flak from reader 'soccer7777' about calling Patchogue-Medford's girls soccer team a "middle-of-the-pack" squad when the Raiders upset Sachem East a couple weeks ago.
Turns out 'soccer' was right and I was wrong.
Patchogue-Medford defeated Ward Melville 1-0 on Saturday to improve to 6-1 in League I. The Raiders are now tied for the league lead with Ward Melville.
I spoke with first-year Pat-Med coach Chris Grieco yesterday. He was an assistant under since retired coach Tony Pannizzo for seven seasons, but noted that he hasn't changed much since taking over.
"We're just winning those 50-50 balls that we haven't consistently in the past," he said. "It took a little time, but they're playing awesome now."
Pat-Med started the year 1-2-1, but has reeled off six straight wins against League I opponents. During that stretch, the Raiders have allowed just one goal.
Junior goalie Kayla Flowers has 62 saves on the year, and she is protected by a young defense. Sophomore Michelle Kawko, who started halfway through last season, is one of four sophomores that start for the team. Juniors Stephanie Marran and Michelle Cicero, and senior Jen Flanagan also start in the back.
Most of those girls are new to the lineup, so Grieco said that it took them a few games to get their feet under them. They have, and now they have wins over Sachem East and Ward Melville for the first time the coach can remember.
"The past few years we've made the playoffs and lost in the first round," Grieco said. "I think we're ready to take a step forward."
And the school is taking notice. Sachem East coach Ralph Forman said the crowd at Pat-Med for its September 22 matchup was very loud, and he thought it may have played a role in the outcome.
"A lot of the student body really gets involved," Grieco said, acknowledging the support from the boys soccer and football teams especially. "The girls think it's the greatest thing in the world."
Grieco noted that the seniors who captain the otherwise young squad — Kathleen Borrelli, Jen Nelson and Gabby D'Aprile (who returned to Pat-Med for her senior year after a stint at St. Anthony's) — are doing a wonderful job leading by example. But the team wouldn't be where it is today without the contributions of three sophomores — Donna Liotine, Jamie Cranor and Kendell Collins — who lead the team in scoring.
The Raiders have built up a talented young base due in large part to Grieco's position as a physical education teacher at the middle school, and the fact that the middle-school squad generally plays its last game of the season on the turf field at the high school.
So the long-term health of the program, along with the short-term prognosis, is looking strong.
Grieco believes his club is among "the top-5 or 6 teams" in Class AA at this point, and I do too. With that said, here is this week's Suffolk Top-10 (keep in mind St. Anthony's is in the CHSAA, and Sayville and Islip are Class A teams):
1. Commack
2. Connetquot
3. Northport
4. St. Anthony's
5. East Islip
6. Sayville
7. Islip
8. North Babylon
9. Patchogue-Medford
10. Ward Melville
*To Ward Melville fans: yes, I know you defeated Pat-Med 3-0 earlier this year and your non-league resume is slightly more impressive than the Raiders' with your close loss to East Islip factored in. But these rankings reflect who the best team is right now, and the Raiders proved that they are on Saturday.
**To Deer Park fans: I know many of you don't think you are getting the credit you deserve for an unbeaten league record, but 1-1 ties against Copiague (a team that was in the developmental league last year and is winless this season), Half Hollow Hills West (2-6-1) and Smithtown East (3-5-1) don't really help your cause.
Yes, Deer Park also tied North Babylon, League IV's best team, but I need to see more out of the Falcons before they crack the top-10. Wins over Smithtown West (this afternoon) and North Babylon (next Tuesday) would probably do the trick.
-In closing today, a somber note. Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of former Sayville coach John Schroeder's passing. Just like they did that day, Sayville got a shutout win yesterday.
Okay, that's all for now. Have a great day everybody.
Comments (4)
WOW! What is left to say after that wonderful article! Thanks and Go Raiders!!!
It's really sad that in your only commentary on the small schools to date you chose to joke about the lone D school being your choice to win only because "they're the only D school on LI, ha ha". It would have been nice if you took notice that they are beating all the C and B size schools in their league. These girls deserve credit for their hard work and accomplishments just as much as the girls in the larger schools. Try to be fair please.
FanofAllSoccer, I also mentioned that Smithtown Christian was unbeaten in League VIII and that its match against Center Moriches on October 23 likely will decide the league title. Certainly the winner of that game will get mention on this blog.
I have to question having three League II teams at the top of the top ten. We will agree Commack is playing well at the top of League II, but East Islip maybe better and should be one of the top teams to beat come playoffs. EI has a few quality non-league wins (Ward Melville 7-2 and North Babylon 8-1-1, William Floyd 5-4-1) as compared to Commack who played border or sub .500 squads (Smithtown East 4-6-1, Huntington 5-6 and Hauppauge 5-5). After those top two and St. Anthony's what makes Connetquot and Northport better than the League I and League IV top contenders. Ward Melville lost to two teams with a combined record of 17-2. North Babylon lost and tied to two teams that are combined 16-0-4. Patchogue-Medford is playing great soccer of late, but it's difficult to ignore a non-league loss to Bellport. Deer park is undefeated, but as previously mentioned and correctly so it's difficult to ignore their ties to Copiague and Hills West. Whereas, Connetquot's non-league schedule was less than challenging, three of the four non-league opponents had a combined record of 12-18-2. Northport has played a tougher non-league schedule, but their record is 6-2-2. It's fun to ponder, but this will all be sorted out come later this month.