In his 22 years at the helm of Mamaroneck’s boys soccer program, Rich Becker has seen an awful lot of success. During Becker’s tenure, the Tigers have wracked up a ton of wins, nabbed their fair share of league titles, and established themselves as one of consistently talented teams in all of Class A.
The one thing they hadn’t done—at least not until Saturday night—was capture a Section I title.
On Oct. 30, the Mamaroneck Tigers ended their sectional championship drought, beating league foe Scarsdale in a 1-0 nail-biter to claim the first Class A crown in the program’s history. For Mamaroneck’s older players, the momentous nature of the occasion—and what it meant for Becker—was evident. Milton Mancias-Magana, one of the Tiger captains, said he was honored to make history for the school and his head coach.
“I can’t fathom it, I don’t have the words,” Mancias-Magana said. “For us to get [Coach Becker] a title, he’s going to remember us; 20 years from now, he’s going to remember us.”
For the first 40 minutes of the game, however, the outcome was far from a sure thing. The No. 5-seeded Raiders won the possession battle and managed several solid scoring chances, but were denied by a valiant showing from Mamaroneck keeper Vincent Repoulis. Once the second half started, however, the tide began to turn the Tigers’ way.
“That first half they dominated us; they have a great coach and I knew they were going to come in with a great game plan and they were able to execute,” said Mancias-Magana. “But in the second half we put on the pressure and did what we couldn’t do in the first half.”
The breakthrough came halfway through the second half, when Alix Masse was able to convert on a rebound from a Wilman Miranda shot, giving the Tigers a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
“It was kind of surreal,” said Masse. “[Wilman] took a shot, the goalie made a save, it bounced right to me and I was able to put it in.”
Although Saturday’s win marked the first-ever Section I title for the Mamaroneck program, this wasn’t necessarily a season in which the Tigers—who came into the Class A tourney as the No. 3 seed—were expected to bring home the section’s highest honor. Last year’s team, which won a regional title but was unable to compete for a section or state championship due to Covid-19 restrictions imposed on fall sports teams, was widely thought of as one of the best soccer teams in all of New York.
“I knew this team could win, but I also knew that we were rebuilding, or reloading, after losing so many players from last year’s team,” explained Rich Becker. “We graduated 16 seniors, but look what these kids turned around and did.”
With the win, Mamaroneck moves on to the state regional semifinals, where it will play Section IX champion Warwick on Nov. 3, after press time. The game is scheduled to be played at Hendrick Hudson High School.
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