Port Jefferson blanks Southold to win boys soccer Suffolk Class C title
Tomas Qepuri of Port Jefferson celebrates after scoring against Southold. Credit: Errol Anderson
Port Jefferson junior Kai Sinishtaj raised both arms in the air in triumph as teammate JayTee Driscoll-Stremich tackled him. Minutes later, senior captain Tomas Qepuri grasped something no Port Jefferson player had held since 2012, lifting it with glee with both hands as his teammates celebrated around him.
That “something” was the Suffolk Class C plaque, now the prized possession of Port Jefferson boys soccer.
Second-seeded Port Jefferson beat top-seeded Southold, 3-0, in Suffolk Class C championship game on Saturday. With no Class C teams in Nassau, the Royals will face Section I’s champion in the state quarterfinal round at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at Hendrick Hudson High School in Montrose.
“Ever since I joined the program, we’ve always lost and we’ve always been clowned for everything,” Qepuri said. “I never let it get to me, but it did get to me and I always took it personally. I’m just so happy to see us slowly evolve from winning one game to two to four and now winning the Class C championship.”
Senior Sviat Zalizniak lofted a cross to the back post for senior Chase Davis, who headed it toward goal. Southold junior goalie Justin Cajas nearly got a hand on the ball to keep it out before Qepuri finished the loose ball in the final minutes of the first half.
It led to a funny sequence as Davis and Qepuri both ran to opposite corner flags to celebrate, thinking each had scored the goal before Davis ran over to jokingly push his teammate.
“I just jumped up with [the goalie] and tapped it in,” Qepuri said. “Better safe than sorry.”
Port Jefferson (9-5-1) put eight shots on goal to just one for Southold (10-5-1) in the first half. The shot disparity proved to be a sign of things to come after sophomore Max Gordon scored a second goal for Port Jefferson, crashing the back post to score.
“Being in such a big role on this team as a sophomore is very important to me,” Gordon said. “Just being a part of these amazing players like JayTee, Tomas, Kevin [Johnston], Sviat, it’s very special.”
Zalizniak added a third goal inside the final 15 minutes of the game, cutting inside before ripping a beautiful shot into the top-left corner.
A Port Jefferson backline of junior Driscoll-Stremich, senior captain Johnston, junior Justin Hildreth and junior Nicholas Hogan, plus two saves from Matvya, managed to keep Southold scoreless.
Coach Taylor Forstell praised Driscoll-Stremich’s ability to time a challenge and Johnston’s energy to win tackle after tackle on defense, calling him a “fantastic senior captain.”
“These seniors are a special group of kids, and they deserve everything they’re getting here,” Forstell said.
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.
