Mike Fusco with the header against Jericho. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com Being undefeated and the number one seed in their division didn’t mean a free ticket to the Nassau county boys soccer final for Garden City but the Trojans proved that they were more than ready, willing and able to get to the final. Before they could do that, there were a couple of games that had to be won first.

The quarterfinal game against Lynbrook on November 4th was no walk in the park but GC had what it takes to get the job done. With the Owls ahead 1-0 Will Mignon, who scored the game winner in Garden City’s previous game, struck again, and tied the score 1-1. If anyone thought the game was heading into overtime since there was less than a minute left, they thought wrong as GC’s Adam Muncan scored the game winner with 38 seconds left. John Tarzian and Vincent Tavernese each assisted on the goals and goalkeeper George Spanos made five saves in the win.

Players from the varsity field hockey and soccer teams were at Mitchell field to cheer on the boys. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com The next game, a semi final against Jericho was a rematch of semi final game played in 2007. Two years ago, the game was decided on penalty kicks and Jericho came out the winner. The Trojans, having not lost yet this season, had no intention of letting history repeat itself.

The Jayhawks opened the scoring with a goal by Mike Solomon but GC’s Will Mignon, off an assist from Vincent Tavernese, tied it with 24:59 left. With the score tied, both teams were giving it their all, but one would have to wonder if the unusually warm day was taking it’s toll on the players. With the fresh legs of Edward Schwendemann in the game for Garden City, he gave a perfectly timed pass to Topher DiBona who put the ball in the back corner of the net, behind Jericho goalkeeper Ben Rechler, for the game winning goal. George Spanos made three saves in goal as the Trojans advanced to the county final against South Side which was played on Wednesday November 11th but occurred too late for this edition.

Edward Schwendemann (15) celebrates with Topher DiBona (facing camera) and James Mignon after DiBona scored the game winning goal against Jericho. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com You can see many more photos from all of the playoff games at www.newsphoto.com

Topher DiBona (9) reacts after scoring the game winning goal against Jericho. Edward Schwendemann, who got the assist, (rear, left) runs toward George Georgiton (5) and Will Mignon as they celebrate with DiBona. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
A sliding John D’Antonio clears the ball ahead of Lynbrook’s Antonio Condoleo. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
Sean Bingham takes the ball past Jericho’s Sahir Raoof. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
James Mignon celebrates with his brother Will (10), after Will scored the tying goal against Jericho. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
Brandon Badgett clears the ball in front of Jericho’s Glenn Hyams. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
Vincent Tavernese narrowly escapes getting kicked as he breaks up a play by Lynbrook’s Damien Andreani. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
Goalkeeper George Spanos punches the ball out of the way of Lynbrook’s Andrew Malordy. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
After Adam Muncan scored the winning goal against Lynbrook, he and Will Mignon run toward their teammates as Lynbrook’s Jordan Zides can’t believe that GC just won the game. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com