See more of our coverage in your search results.
They’re having a ball at St. Anthony’s High School.
Don Corrao’s mighty Friars boys soccer team is boasting one of its best-ever years; the 15-0-1 bunch is ranked ninth in the nation as the No.1 seed gets ready for playoffs Tuesday.
“We look forward to coming to work every day because of their work ethic,” the head coach told The Post. “They want to come to work every day.”
St. Anthony’s started its season with a 0-0 draw against New Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic (13-0-2) and has won out ever since, heading into a final regular-season match vs. archrival Chaminade on Thursday evening.
Corrao had a hunch this group would be special when players inquired about the program’s storied legacy.
“We actually went into his office one time; we asked him before the season started, ‘ What is the best team in [school] history?’ ” senior co-captain and striker Jayden Crespi said. “Because we want to be better than them.”
Good habits
The answer was two teams: the 2008 state champion Friars, nationally ranked second and sixth in separate polls with a 20-0-1 finish, and the 2013 squad, sixth best in the nation and state champions with the same record.
“I said, ‘In order to get to those heights, it would take a lot of hard work,” Corrao said. “Fortunately, they listened.”
The boys bought in easily, having been hitting the pitch at Cy Donnelly Field with everything they’ve got, especially at a recent 6:30 a.m. session because the school had an open house later that day.
“Lights off, pitch black, freezing cold. But that’s what it is,” co-captain and senior center defensive midfielder James Kelly said. “We had the biggest smiles on our faces.”
It deeply impressed Corrao and had him stoked for a strong finish.
“Without a doubt, our best training session of the year,” the coach said. “They were flying — the energy, the work rate was just a joy to behold. We left here on Cloud 9.”
Sizzling Friars
Finding jovial moments in the grit and overwhelming effort to keep the hot streak going is also a huge part of the team’s M.O.
The fun-loving Friars even introduced a less-than-common game-day ritual that’s become a good luck charm.
“Every halftime, no matter what the score is, no matter if we’re down or happy, we go into the corner, and we just have the speaker on, and we just start dancing around,” Kelly said.
The team busts a move to various songs during the intermission — Kelly claims Crespi is the best dancer on the squad — but is partial to “Swag Surfin’” by Fast Life Yungstaz.
“We took some [pointers] from the kickline team,” Crespi said of the soccer team’s sideline routine.
That camaraderie is another reason junior midfielder Nicholas Gentile is especially motivated to finish strong.
“If you don’t love what you’re doing, why do it at all?” he said. “You’ve got to be positive, even if you’re having an off day; off days are gonna happen. You just have to enjoy the moment.”
The Friars aren’t letting the national accolades get to their heads either. Everybody knows one bad game means more than 15 great wins from here on.
“There’s still a very long way to go,” Corrao said.
As if the team wasn’t motivated enough for a historic finish, they’ve tacked on a little extra motivation from their respected Chaminade adversaries, who have won the league for the past two seasons.
“Chaminade had us the last two years now, and winning it back is just everything to us this year,” Kelly said. “We didn’t want it as much last year. I think this year it’s very clear how much we want it.”