Martin Luther King Jr.’s Widmayer Jean clears the ball. (Lauren Marsh)
Martin Jacobson pumped his fist and let out a roar. It was a sudden show of emotion seldom heard from the legendary Martin Luther King Jr. boys soccer coach – at least not in September – once Kerfala Sylla’s shot found the back of the net, extending a one-goal lead to two midway through the second half.
Jacobson’s reaction to the tally was understandable given this wasn’t an ordinary September match. It was in front of a large gathering at Riverside Park in Manhattan against Beacon, King’s bitter division rival, and it was the first time the Knights, ranked first in New York City by The Post and 21st nationally in the Adidas/NSCAA poll, had shared the pitch with the Blue Demons since last November’s shocking PSAL Class A semifinal loss.
“Let’s face it – this is a rivalry, this is it,” he said following MLK’s impressive 3-1 win over Beacon. “We needed this for our confidence. We needed to know we can dominate them, which we did. We need to continue to dominate teams.”
Playing with purpose, passion and emotion, King (5-0-0) controlled play and owned possession with its precise passing and fancy ball control. Despite the absence of star midfielder Ibrahim Diaby (abdominal strain), it struck for two goals – by Ramon Southerland and Sylla – seven minutes in and could’ve put up at least a few more on the defending city champion. Beacon (3-1-0) did score once, on a Jeremy Hardy strike in the 43rd minute, but it was the Blue Demons’ only real scoring chance.
“They’re a super-talented team and they had a lot of desire,” Beacon coach Aled Mahrer said. “They came out blazing. We were nervous and we made a few mistakes in the back on the left side.”
King had the edge in terms of experience – it has nine starters back – as well as size and technical skill. As Mahrer described, it also was motivated after last year’s loss. Central midfielder Bryan Moya, who had a pair of assists, said it erased the painful memory of last year’s loss. Like his teammates, he spent the entire day waiting for the rematch with baited breath, staring at the clock in each of his classes.
“It was like a needle pinching my heart,” he said. “It’s gone now, it’s out.”
Afterward, Jacobson played down the victory, saying the only win that truly counts would be the one in mid-November. Last fall, he pointed out, MLK beat Beacon twice during the regular season, too, only to stumble in the playoff match.
“You have to win the last game,” he said.
Beacon, after all, will only get better as it works in so many underclassmen and star midfielder Ryan Cupolo continues to get healthy after offseason surgery for a broken fibula. Plus, Northeastern-bound keeper Max Brown sat the entire first half because of what Mahrer described as a coach’s decision, and with him in net, Beacon played King to a 1-1 draw over the final 40 minutes. Jacobson, ever the confident coach, said no goalie could’ve stopped either of the early strikes.
He was pleased with how his team has responded to the loss of Diaby, by outscoring Manhattan A foes Stuyvesant and Beacon by a combined 7-1 over the last five days.
“I think I’m 18 deep – we really have a deep team,” he said. “I have so many great kids that can score. That’s what good teams do – they step up. I’m looking for us to keep improving.”
Diaby said he could’ve dressed and played, but erred on the side of caution. He had faith his teammates would get the job done and didn’t want to worsen the injury he said has gotten better.
November, anyway, is when he needs to be healthy, not September. That’s when retribution for last November truly comes.
Moya admitted as much. At the final whistle, MLK hardly celebrated.
“We got to get better and better and better,” he said.