By Gary Tim

 

 

 

Brooklyn, NY (July 22, 2008) -- “The Brooklyn Knights are playoffs bound!”  That’s the catch phrase swirling around soccer circles in New York City ’s most populous borough. 

 

 

 

But, it’s not the first time that Knights’ head coach Joe Balsamo has been inundated with such lexis. For the second-year instructor, the echo reverberates from the 2007 season when his team went all the way to the national semifinals.

 

 

 

Now, this year Balsamo is addressing the “peaks and valleys to go beyond the podium’s runner-up position”, and his sights are set on getting the national pennant. “Monday, we start practice again and be ready for the playoffs. I know the guys are mentally ready and I am ready. We’re looking forward to Friday night and we’ll see what happens,” he said after Brooklyn ’s last game, a 3-2 win at home to Fredericksburg Gunners on Saturday.

 

 

 

The Knights (10-2-4, 34pts) begin their playoffs on Friday (5:30 pm) at the Exeter High School stadium in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the first of two semifinals towards the Eastern Conference crown. That game pits the Northeast Division champs against old foes and New England Division leaders, Cape Cod Crusaders (9-3-4, 31pts) whom they defeated in the conference final last year to get to the national stage.

 

 

 

The clash was set on yesterday (Monday, July 21) as part of the nationwide PDL payoffs schedule which will see all conference titles being decide over the weekend. The other Eastern Conference semifinal is between hosts and Mid-Atlantic Division champs Reading Rage (11-3-2, 35pts) and Newark Ironbound Express (8-2-6, 30pts) who finished runners-up to Brooklyn and coveted the wild card.   

 

 

 

Though Brooklyn ended their regular season as divisional champions, they knew from the onset that their run this year was not going to be a wind-assisted sprint. Balsamo said his charges were patient and performed “a total team effort to get to where they are”, and are cognizant of the fact that they were divisional runners-up to Cape Cod in 2007.

 

 

 

After winning their first two games – home match-ups – against Westchester Flames (1-0) and Long Island Rough Riders (3-1), they hit a snag in their first road game going down to Long Island in a lone goal scrap. Then they rebounded for a win at Vermont Voltage (2-0) and a 1-1 tie to New Hampshire Phantoms.

 

 

 

The unbeaten play in the four games surrounding the loss earned Brooklyn its first appearance in the prestigious Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Playing away to USL-1 side Carolina Railhawks, Brooklyn were unfortunate to be edged by a set-piece goal in the game’s dying minutes. That performance earned them a lot of admiration, especially in light of the fact that they played without four of their core starters.

 

 

 

According to Balsamo, the experience was further conviction his team is comprised, entirely, of players who are skilled, talented and disciplined. “I know I have a base in the team and any coach does. My base is a few guys I have been keeping and around these players I try to fit other right players, and this year I think we did a wonderful job because they all come in and put 100% and that’s what makes us better.”

 

 

 

Thereafter, the Knights mounted their horses and charged to the end of the regular season, playing unbeaten in 10 of the eleven remaining games, including a win and a tie in two clashes with Newark . Their only blot was another one-goal loss to Long Island .

 

 

 

Just prior to the regular season, Balsamo had indicated that he was buoyed by his team’s impressive showings in 2007, and was confident of riding the waves to steer his soccer crew to sail among greater accolades, this year. He credits the ‘team first’ concept and camaraderie within the club as vital in the successes. “We have one team not groups and we try to coordinate everybody with one spirit to winning and to have fun within the game and on the field.

 

 

 

So I’m very happy where we are, and I know the guys are.”
Those sentiments were amplified by the players themselves, including Italian-born midfield maestro Matia Damiani in a pre-season interview. “Everybody expects us to be one of the best teams in the league, so together we go out with the will to do well and win it all this year.” Damiani reflected on Brooklyn’s 2008 roster which boasts players of 11 different nationalities and posited, “we are a melting pot just like Brooklyn, itself … and more than that we truly represent the area because we give a lot of heart and passion in whatever we do.” 

 

 

 

Using regular season play as a guide, Balsamo feels that his players are playoff ready, saying they are confident of being consistent. “Well, on this level is not easy for nobody because I have been seeing a lot of good teams that have been winning, losing and then playing the next game and playing unbelievably.”

 

 

 

He said concentration is also going to be key, and that he entreats his players to carry the right mentality to the task ahead. “So it’s everything being together. You put things together in training to develop the right tactic and personality to best prepare for your game. It’s a lot of things you have to put together, and we have worked on what is needed to do our best.”

 

 

 

And, every member in the clubhouse is cognizant of that. “Honestly, I wanna’ win the national championships, I think we have the quality and the talent to do it,” offered first-year midfielder Frank Alesci. Then defender Gabe Ortega added, “the experience would be good for us and the fans who support Brooklyn soccer, our best is going to come there.” For sure Ortega meant the playoffs, as Balsamo summed it up by saying, “winning is always a good feeling,” knowing that the phrase is more than swirling around.  It is now contagious. “Brooklyn Knights are in the Playoffs”.