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When Spackenkill senior Antonio Laveglia and his teammates rallied around one another following their semi- and state final victories, 3-2 over Mattituck on Saturday, Nov. 17 and 1-0 over the Section VII Plattsburgh Hornets on Sunday, Nov. 18 for the Class B state title, Laveglia not only thought about history in the making for his team, but also about the dream his brother Lino had well before those victories came to fruition, a dream that became Spackenkill’s reality – a state championship at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta.
“My brother Lino had a dream on Thursday night and told me Friday morning,” said Antonio. “He predicted that we would win 3-2 and 1-0, and become state champions.”
And Lino was right.
Laveglia provided the sole goal in the state championship game with 32 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the second half. Teammate Morgan Rodriguez controlled the ball in Plattsburgh territory before passing to Laveglia, who then broke away approximately 20 yards out from the net before sailing the ball over goalie Eamon Case’s head for the deciding goal in Spackenkill’s first-ever state championship game.
Laveglia said the team came out fired up for the championship match.
“We started off evenly matched,” he said. “In the last 40 minutes as a team, we displayed great intensity. We came out like animals.”
Coming into the game, the Hornets (21-1-1) had eliminated Section VI’s Akron with a 2-1 double-overtime victory. Neither Spackenkill or Plattsburgh had ever won the title before, and in the end, it came down to a single shot.
Semifinals vs. Mattituck
In the semifinal game on Nov. 17, the Spartans were down 1-0 at the half. Senior co-captain Laveglia scored first for Spackenkill with just over a minute gone in the second half, tying Section XI Mattituck (11-4-2) on a free kick after Josh Maley, a senior and co-captain, was fouled outside the box.
For their second-half effort in coming back, Spackenkill goalie Nik Arnoff credited the whole team, especially his defenders for their leadership.
“My defense backed me up big time,” he said, noting in particular defenders Derek White, Ryan Reynolds, and Osama Tawaney.
Forward Anthony Balbo, Laveglia and Maley provided a triple threat on Spackenkill’s second goal midway through the second half. The ball made its way from Laveglia to Balbo, who then found Maley uncovered for a shot on the left side of the open goal and a 2-1 Spartans lead.
“I had a ripper of a shot into the top corner,” said Maley.
With just 10 minutes left in the game, Maley and Balbo teamed up again, with Balbo scoring into the left side of the net for a 3-1 advantage.
But Mattituck wasn’t done, and after Arnoff raced out of the net to get between a three-man break and dove to deflect a shot out-of-bounds with just minutes to go, a low corner kick from Mattituck’s Eric Koch found Hornet player Charles Pellegrino for the team’s second score.
But Spackenkill was able to hold on for the 3-2 win, and the state final berth.
Looking back
After the weekend, Laveglia reflected on the only loss Spackenkill endured during the middle of the regular season, 2-1 against Millbrook, and said he didn’t want to let his teammates suffer that kind of setback ever again. Laveglia was one of six remaining members of the 2005 Spackenkill team which lost to Marcellus in the state finals, along with senior co-captains Maley and White, and Rodriguez, Balbo and Mario Marotta.
Maley also talked about a championship weekend pre-game ritual that helped the team get in the right mindset.
“We called team meetings before we went to bed. Everybody spoke,” said Maley. The meetings provided an opportunity for everyone to offer suggestions and strategies on how to be successful, he said.
“It’s mesmerizing,” he added. “Once you win the first game, you go into the second and say, ‘Wow,’ and you’re not satisfied yet.”
Right before the start of the state championship game, Laveglia and Maley were presented with All-State awards by the New York State Soccer Association during a ceremony held at Oneonta High School. Maley said he was surprised that that he and Laveglia were honored before the championship, given that the awards might have clued Plattsburgh in on which Spartan players to isolate during the game.
But the 1-0 win was still a dream come true.
“We play for each other,” said Maley.
