Carle Place wins its eighth straight boys soccer county crown
Jarren Nunez of Carle Place makes the winning goal in the overtime shootout of the Nassau Class B boys soccer final against Cold Spring Harbor at Farmingdale State College on Friday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Carle Place senior goalie Sebastian Reinoso squatted next to the goal with his fists punched into the ground after 110 minutes of soccer, preparing for a penalty shootout following a scoreless 110 minutes between the No. 2 Frogs and No. 1 Cold Spring Harbor.
He stood up and jumped a bit before shaking hands with Cold Spring Harbor goalie Tyler Donaldson. Reinoso, enjoying his first year as a starter on varsity, had made six saves — each seemingly more remarkable than the last — to keep the game scoreless.
Reinoso did his part. Minutes later, his teammates did theirs.
Carle Place boys soccer defeated Cold Spring Harbor via penalty shootout, 5-3, to lift the program’s eighth consecutive county title in the Nassau Class B championship game Friday night at Farmingdale State.
“[I’ve] been here in 10th grade when we won it, but didn’t really feel like I did a lot,” Reinoso said. “This game, I did everything I could, and we won. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
Carle Place (7-7-2) will face the winner of Babylon and Center Moriches at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Harborfields High School in the Long Island Class B championship in a state Class B subregional.
Carle Place’s Lucas Viegas, Gavin Lima, Cristiano Costa and Ryan Leary had all scored their penalty kicks, setting up senior Jarren Nunez for the potential game-winning kick following a Cold Spring Harbor shot that hit the left post.
“It was a pretty surreal feeling,” Nunez said. “The nerves are pretty high. We wanted to get our win. We deserved our win.”
Nunez made good on his shot, smashing it into the back of the net before being swarmed by his teammates. He rubbed his shoulders in celebration, showcasing the cold-blooded nature of his clutch score. Nunez’s teammates tested that mindset by dumping an ice-cold cooler over his head when he wasn’t looking.
“I kept saying, ‘No one deserves it more than Jarren Nunez,’” coach Connor Reardon said. “He started last year, but never really gets any accolades … I knew that the moment wouldn’t be too big for him.”
For Leary, who underwent a lengthy legal process to play both football and boys soccer this fall for Carle Place, it was a dream come true to win his fifth county title in as many years.
“This is my third game of the season,” Leary said. “This means everything to me. For the third game of the year to be a county championship, it’s a pretty cool feeling.”
Cold Spring Harbor (9-4-4) nearly scored the winner courtesy of senior Graydon Vitagliano minutes into first overtime. His shot struck the crossbar and bounced down, but the referees ruled it did not cross the line.
Fellow Cold Spring Harbor seniors Ethan Light and Connor Sheridan did a brilliant job of containing Leary and Carle Place’s offense, double-teaming him consistently throughout the night.
But as has been the case for nearly a decade, Nassau’s Class B title remains in Carle Place.
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
