Glen Cove boys soccer's Hector Santiago scores twice in semifinal win over Roslyn
Hector Santiago of Glen Cove, right, celebrates with his teammate after winning a Nassau Class AA boys soccer semifinal game against Roslyn on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Farmingdale. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
One GC — Garden City — had clinched its spot in the Nassau Class AA boys soccer championship game. Now another GC — Glen Cove — was trying to join the top-seeded Trojans.
“It’s always been us two sort of duking it out since like the dawn of time,” Big Red senior midfielder Kosta Tsirkas said. “It’s like a myth. It’s like a tale.”
Third-seeded Roslyn stood in the way of the next chapter, riding a 12-game winning streak into the semifinals Thursday at Farmingdale State.
But Hector Santiago sandwiched his two first-half goals around one by Tsirkas for No. 2 Glen Cove. The Big Red looked sharp throughout, claiming a 4-0 victory.
So they will play for the top prize at Farmingdale State at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
“I always wanted it to be GC versus GC,” Santiago said. “I feel like these next few practices are going to do well for us, and I think that we’re going to play hard and do the best that we can to win it.”
The Big Red beat Garden City the last time they won it. That was 2022, in Class A.
“Garden City is a great team,” coach Brian Smith said. “They’re always a great team. They’re well-coached.”
The Trojans (14-4) lost nine starters from their second straight state title team and Glen Cove (14-2-1) has five starters back from a rebuilding season that ended in the quarterfinals.
“Honestly, I think we’re a great team,” Tsirkas said, “but I don’t want to make any predictions.”
Santiago and Tsirkas scored in a span of 1:16 off fine feeds from Bryan Guerra.
“Those passes, he showed great vision,” Smith said.
Then Santiago made a run to the right, above the box, before turning and firing the ball into the far corner in the 38th minute.
“I thought that was amazing,” Santiago said. “I didn’t even believe it could happen.”
Believe it. The junior left wing/striker owns 18 goals.
“You know when he takes a shot, the ball can definitely go in the net,” Smith said.
David Bernal made six saves.
The Bulldogs, who won their first conference title in 15 years, finished at 15-3.
“It’s always been a miracle season for us just because of how much these guys mean to us,” coach Kyle Kelly said. “The 12 seniors, the senior captains, they’ve helped me out tremendously, and they’re the reason this season was so successful.”
