St. Anthony's boys soccer plays lights out defense, cruises past St. John the Baptist
Nicholas Gentile of St. Anthony's sends the ball towards the net during a CHSAA boys soccer game against St. John the Baptist in West Islip on Tuesday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Every fall St. Anthony’s boys soccer knows the season will be defined by what happens in late October and early November. But the foundation for those playoff games is built on September afternoons, and the Friars spent Tuesday sliding another win into place.
An undefeated St. Anthony’s squad won its seventh consecutive game this fall, defeating St. John the Baptist 4-0 in the NSCHSAA on the road in West Islip Tuesday afternoon.
The Friars utilized a three-man backline with sophomore Nicholas Gentile and junior Michael Santaly working as wingbacks. When a midfielder like junior James Kelly or Eric Arango checks down for a pass, it opens space behind them for Gentile or Santaly to make a run down the line.
It’s a product of sound practices, Kelly says, and a testament to the off-ball movement and chemistry the team has worked on to know where to be.
“Our practices are very, very intense,” Kelly said. “That’s how we stay this good as a collective, as a team.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by coach Don Corrao. He noted how his players work to outwork each other in practices, something that translates well to gameday.
“There’s not one guy on this team that doesn’t want to be here,” Gentile added.
When St. John the Baptist (1-3) tried to build an attack, Gentile and Santaly can slide back and essentially create a more traditional four-man backline.
“The wing spot is really beneficial to me because I get to showcase my attacking side and my defensive side,” Gentile said. “I feel that I have enough endurance to keep the game going, and I feel that really helps us win our games.”
With juniors Ethan Chang and Jonluca Bello and senior Mark Berner impressing along the backline, St. Anthony’s allowed just two shots on goal against Friars senior goalie Cole Lawrence — both in the first 10 minutes of the first half — and fired 19 toward St. John the Baptist senior goalie Riley Batz.
One of those came in the 8th minute as Santaly whipped a cross to the back post for Gentile to head into the right corner. Just over 10 minutes later, Gentile beat his defender down the right side of the field and ripped a shot toward Batz. The save was pushed aside, but Kelly tapped in the rebound to give the Friars a two-goal advantage.
Senior Justin Martinez added another goal for St. Anthony’s off a corner kick from Gentile, delivering a powerful header that Batz did well to deflect into the crossbar only for Martinez to score the rebound for his first varsity goal.
“I was so grateful, like finally,” Martinez said. “I was [smiling] when I scored. Anything I can do to contribute to the team is always a pleasure.”
Junior William Jablonowski scored the fourth goal, finishing a rebound off one of Batz’s 15 saves following a shot from junior Jayden Crespi. Despite fielding a roster that only holds six seniors, Kelly put it best when it comes to what the Friars are capable of regardless of their age.
“I think talent says it all,” Kelly said. “Every young kid on the team has a lot of talent, and everyone wants it bad … you go up against seniors that are three times the size of us, and there’s no problem. We go in as hard as they do.”
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.
