Wildano Jeudy scores twice to help North Babylon boys soccer clinch playoff spot
Wildano Jeudy of North Babylon goes up for a header against Ward Melville players during a Suffolk boys soccer game on Monday in North Babylon. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
North Babylon needed just one point against Ward Melville Monday to secure its spot in the Suffolk Class AAA playoffs. Instead, it picked up three.
The Bulldogs shut out their League II opponent, 2-0, on Senior Day behind a pair of goals by junior midfielder Wildano Jeudy. The victory avenged a 2-0 road loss to the Patriots on Oct. 7.
“Proud of the way the guys played,” said North Babylon coach Jack Fengler. “They’ve been playing really well. We haven’t always gotten the results, but this time it paid off. We capitalized on our chances, which we haven’t been doing all too much this season.”
Jeudy’s first goal came with just over nine minutes left in the first half. North Babylon forced a midfield turnover, turning the mistake into an instant counterattack. Jeudy ran in behind the Ward Melville backline, received a through ball, and buried the shot past the Patriots goalkeeper.
“It felt great,” Jeudy said. “We made the playoffs because of this game, and it’s good to stay with the team all the way to November and hopefully win the rest of the playoffs as well.”
The Bulldogs controlled the game from the opening whistle, dominating possession and applying early pressure to Ward Melville’s defense. Max Rogowski and Jack Halleran were involved early and often, setting the tone for an attacking North Babylon side.
Rogowski made his presence known from the start, clogging up passing lanes and winning his one-on-one duels.
The Bulldogs’ second goal came just 15 minutes into the second half.
Rogowski stepped up to a free kick about 10 yards past the halfway line and delivered a perfectly placed cross into the middle of the box. Jeudy crashed in, made first contact, and snuck the ball into the bottom left corner.
Ward Melville raised the intensity after each goal, creating some of its best chances immediately after conceding, but North Babylon met the moment well.
Early in the second half, Ward Melville had a chance to equalize on the counterattack, but a last-ditch slide tackle from senior captain Ibrahim Shairzai defused the danger.
After the second goal, the Patriots found their best chance of the afternoon, a through ball on the counter to Ryan Glennon, but a great save from Gianluca Turano kept Ward Melville off the board.
Shairzai came up clutch again later in the half, shutting down a second counterattack and helping contribute to an impressive clean-sheet performance by Turano.
“Ibrahim has made those tackles countless times this season,” Fengler said. “When you just think he’s going to get beat, he gets his foot in there and does a great job denying it. [Turano] had some really big saves as well, so, really proud of the clean sheet from the whole team.”
North Babylon (7-5-3) guarantees a winning record in Fengler’s first season as head coach and will finish out its regular-season campaign on the road against Copiague on Wednesday.
“Hopefully, we end on a positive note there as well, and we’ll see what happens in the playoffs,” Fengler said. “I really like our chances against literally anybody.”
Ward Melville (9-6-1), already having secured its spot in the playoffs, sits third in the league, but could fall to fourth if Lindenhurst beats Centereach in its final match of the season on Tuesday.
