By Dylan Butler
After 40 minutes of scoreless soccer in an unlikely battle for first place in Queens A West with Grover Cleveland, Newcomers boys soccer coach Louis Llull told his players at half-time that in a game between two evenly matched teams, the side that made the first mistake would lose.
In the 56th minute, it was Cleveland making that miscue, with Newcomers’ Alex Guerrero capitalizing as the Lions took over sole possession of first place with a 1-0 road win Friday.
Both Llull and Cleveland coach Dmitri Darguca had no idea what to expect from their boys’ soccer teams, but surprisingly there they were, both undefeated and battling for the division lead two weeks into the season.
“I would never have thought [we’d be tied for first],” Llull said. “They are all new players. We have just two returning players, that’s it. We had 50 kids at tryouts and the ones that are here show a lot of heart and talent.”
Newcomers sophomore Angel Guaman, who stole the ball in the Indians defensive third, dribbled past two other Cleveland defenders down the wing and sent a low cross inside the box. Indians keeper Edis Skrigel, who made several spectacular saves to keep his team in the game, dove towards the ball, but Guerrero got a piece. He settled the ball and slide it past the keeper to put Newcomers (4-0) ahead in the 56th minute.
“We spoke before the season and if the ball is high or if the ball is low, I know he is going to cross it,” Guerrero said. “I stopped because if I would have kicked it right away I know it would have gone out. I know one-on-one on the keeper, its tougher on him.”
After an evenly matched first half, Newcomers controlled play in the second, creating all the quality scoring chances, including a penalty kick in the 73rd minute, which sailed high over the crossbar by Johnny Vargas.
“Edis kept us in the game with a couple of big saves, but we are limited this year. We don’t have a deep bench like last year,” Darguca said. “We didn’t know what we had this year, but we’re not as skilled as last year. Today, Newcomers wanted it more.”
A stingy Newcomers defense, which has yet to be scored upon in four matches, severely limited Cleveland’s (3-1-1) scoring chances. The Indians’ best opportunity came in the 33rd minute, when Kreshnik Sadiku’s chip inside the box was tipped away by junior keeper Elvir Prasovic for a corner kick.
“We have a constant defense, it is the main part of the team,” said Prasovic, the team’s captain. “Today, we demonstrated that.”
“I feel relieved a bit that our defense is so strong,” added Llull. “The team is different from last year to this year. This year we wanted to be stronger defensively and use more speed.”
Bayside 1, Forest Hills 0. Tallin Lamonaca made five saves to earn the shutout and John Gallego scored the game’s lone goal in the 25th minute for Bayside (3-0-1 Queens A East). Forest Hills fell to 1-2-1.
Newcomers 2, Long Island City 0. Guerrero and Joao Jones scored two goals three minutes apart late in the first half and Prasovic made seven saves to earn his fifth straight shutout Monday. LIC falls to 1-3.
Edison 5, Townsend Harris 1. Francisco Gongora netted a hat trick and Noe Canales and Arturo Pico each added a goal for Edison (4-0 Queens B North). Townsend Harris is 2-3.
Springfield Gardens 1, Campus Magnet 0. Kijana Kerr had four saves for Magnet (0-1 Queens B South).
Far Rockaway 3, Richmond Hill 1. Shahidur Rahman, Abisoye Oloruntoba and Troy Malcolm scored for Far Rockaway (1-1 Queens B South).
Cardozo 2, Lane 0. Robert Bartolini and Abad Crosby scored for Cardozo (3-1 Queens A East).
Flushing 3, Forest Hills 2. Han Soo Jun scored all three goals, including the winner with 20 minutes left in the game on an assist by Jing Jun Quan to lead Flushing (2-1-2 Queens A East). Forest Hills is 2-3.
Townsend Harris 2, Jamaica 0. Freshman John Tatti scored a goal in each half and Nick Kaloudis made 20 saves for Townsend Harris (2-2 Queens B North). Jamaica fell to 0-3-1.
John Bowne 2, Forest Hills 0. Anthony Edwards and Diego Ruiz scored and Allessandro Vellone made 10 saves for Bowne (1-2-1 Queens A East).
Hillcrest 7, Arts & Business 1. Keelan Kellman had four goals and Dale Morrison added a pair to pace the Hawks. Jose Hernandez had three assists and keeper Kevin Mullings made six saves for Hillcrest (2-2 Queens B North).
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
