Rodolfo Paguada has put away so many opportunities it has spoiled John Adams coach Alex Navarrete. He was shocked when Paguada was turned away on several chances in the opening half of the Spartans’ PSAL Class A ‘L’ bracket match with No. 28 Lehman.
“I couldn’t believe the reflexes this goalkeeper had,” the coach said of Lehman’s Mendim Gashi.
Paguada, however, didn’t lead Queens A West during the regular season in scoring for no reason. He never lost confidence, scoring twice in the second half and adding an assist to Rodrigo Pereyra as the Spartans (12-1-2) rallied for a 3-1 victory over Lehman of The Bronx. They meet 12th-seeded Bard in the ‘L’ bracket semifinals on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in Queens.
Adams played much better as a unit in the second half as Pereyra and Diego Carchi found a rhythm in the midfield. It controlled possession and limited the Lions’ chances.
“We got what we wanted, we beat Lehman,” Navarrete said. “It was a surprise we finsihed the first half down 1-0, but we were the better team, we were dominating.”
Goalkeeper Willian Benitez made sure Lehman never threatened. He had eight saves altogether, including a save on a penalty kick, the second time in the last two matches he has much such a play.
“I have so much confidence if we get to penalties he’s gonna make a difference,” Navarrete said. “He knows how to take penalties.”
No. 13 Cardozo 6, No. 20 FDR 0: Cory Tseng had two goals and two assists, Chris Koumas had a goal and an assist, Andrew Charris added two helpers, and Isaac Falcones, Kevin Bonilla and Diego Barreto also scored for Cardozo (9-3-1), which meets fourth-seeded Beacon in the PSAL Class A ‘L’ bracket semifinals on Thursday at Randall’s Island. FDR is 7-5-1.
‘P’ BRACKET
No. 8 Curtis 4, No. 25 Forest Hills 1: Nermin Kurtesi and Arlind Stafaj each had a goal and an assist, Eduardo Bravo had two assists and Christian Aldaz also scored for Curtis (13-2-0), which hosts ninth-seeded Columbus on Thursday in the PSAL Class A ‘P’ bracket semifinals. Forest Hills is 5-7-1.
No. 9 Columbus 4, No. 24 Erasmus Hall 0: Martin Dadaj, Alhoussain Bah, Jordan Scarlett (two assists) and Armand Dadaj all scored once for Columbus (10-2-1), which faces No. 8 Curtis in the PSAL Class A ‘P’ bracket semifinals on Thursday and has won 10 straight matches. Erasmus Hall finishes its year 7-6-0.
No. 16 Fort Hamilton 4, No. 17 New Dorp 1: The Tigers (9-3-1) draw top-seeded Martin Luther King Jr. in the PSAL Class A ‘P’ bracket semifinals Thursday afternoon at Riverside Park in Manhattan. Jonathan Awad scored for New Dorp (9-6-0).
‘S’ BRACKET
No. 7 William Bryant 3, No. 26 Evander Childs 1: Mark Buric, Adrian Molina and Hugo Zuazo each scored once, Annes Salkovic and Bibash Kc had assists and keeper Nick Pantelias made six saves for Bryant (11-1-3), which hosts 10th-seeded South Shore in the PSAL Class A ‘S’ bracket semifinals on Thursday. Evander Childs ends the year at 5-7-1.
No. 10 South Shore 2, No. 23 Port Richmond 1: Yanik Duffus and Howard Harriott each scored once and keeper Dexroy Brooks made eight saves for South Shore (11-1-1), which visits Bryant on Thursday in the PSAL Class A ‘S’ bracket semifinals. Port Richmond is 8-7-0.
No. 15 Stuyvesant 2, No. 18 Newcomers 1, Overtime: Stuyvesant (8-4-3) will face second-seeded Francis Lewis in the PSAL Class A ‘S’ bracket semifinals on Thursday in Queens. Newcomers finishes the season at 8-6-1.
‘A’ BRACKET
No. 6 Bronx Science 7, No. 27 Boys & Girls 0: Eric Labourdette struck four times, Julian GIlbey also scored twice and John Bahr De Stefano had four helpers for Bronx Science (12-1-0), which hosts No. 11 Bayside in the PSAL Class A ‘A’ bracket semifinals on Thursday. Boys & Girls finishes 6-5-2.
No. 11 Bayside 4, No. 22 James Madison 0: Kevin Londono scored twice, Santiago Moore had two assists and Constantine Pougiouklidis made seven assists for the clean sheet for Bayside (9-3-1), which faces sixth-seeded Bronx Science on Thursday in the PSAL Class A ‘A’ bracket semifinals at Williamsbridge Oval Field in The Bronx. Madison completes its season at 6-7-0.
No. 14 Long Island City 3, No. 19 Tilden 1: The Bulldogs (9-5-1) meet No. 3 Tottenville in the PSAL Class A ‘A’ bracket semifinals on Thursday in Staten Island. Tilden is 9-3-1.