Beacon Blue Demons Ready for Repeat in Boys Soccer
By Richard Kagan
The Beacon School boys soccer team certainly have the winning spirit. In the fall of 2005, the school won the boys Public School Athletic League title. Last year, the Blue Demons won again in defeating Francis Lewis High School on penalty kicks. Joe Nikic, a senior who graduated, netted the game winner and the biggest goal of the season. The Blue Demons got to the title game when they upset tournament favorite Martin L. King High School in the semi-finals.
In that championship season, Beacon lost to MLK twice during the regular season and then pulled off the big playoff win.
This season in 2011, the Blue Demons trail MLK by three points in Manhattan Division A going into the second half of the season. Beacon has a 10-2 record, having won a slew of matches after dropping the opener to MLK. The boys’ coach, Alec Mahrer likes what he sees of this year’s team. “We are getting better as a team,” said Mahrer. This year, Beacon has key returning seniors who played in the title game last year. Goalie Maximilian Brown stopped two penalty kicks to help his team take the Finals last year. Coach Mahrer tabbed him as one of the best at his position in the city. Brown will attend Northeastern University next season and play soccer. At 6-foot-3, he is “very quick and reads the game well,” according to coach Mahrer.
Beacon’s scoring threat is Jeremy Hardy, a junior forward whose seven goals scored places him near the Divison leaders. Gideon Rosenthal and Ryan Cupolo, both seniors, play the outside wing position and create scoring chances. Both players are savvy and can spread a team’s defense, giving Hardy an opening up the middle. Luca Quinn a senior and T.L. Guest are strong on defense. The team has good leadership from the returning players who carried Beacon to its second title in five seasons.
“The guys are coming together,” said Mahrer. The players are “making adjustments throughout the year.” Mahrer hopes the team continues to play well at the end of the season. “We are getting better as a team,” Mahrer said. Beacon plays Martin L. King and ends the season against Stuyvesant H.S., which gave Beacon a tough game in their earlier match. Mahrer hopes these games will prepare the Blue Demons for the playoffs which start as the weather gets cooler. Martin L. King as been the soccer power in the PSAL in recent years and is within walking distance of Beacon which is located near Lincoln Center in Manhattan. Mahrer likes the make-up of his team. “We feel like we have the players who can take it again,” Mahrer said. #
