PLAYOFFS: Harkins Hat Trick Leads Cyclones to 5-1 Win Over Glen Cove

The No. 2 seeded South Side Cyclones dismantled No. 15 Glen Cove in the first round of the Class A playoffs on Saturday, scoring five times in the first half to lift the Cyclones to a 5-1 win. Junior Chris Harkins dropped a hat trick in the first 40 minutes of the matchup, and South Side's staunch defense gave up only three shots on goal.

Though the Cyclones first half offensive outburst supplied them with a cushion heading into the second stanza, Coach Fred Paul said his team's play during the first 40 minutes was far from perfect. "That was the worst defensive half we played all season," Paul said. [Glen Cove] has some dangerous players and we started playing loose. The fabric of our team is our defense."

South Side only gave up one goal, but at the time, the score cut the Cyclones' lead to 2-1 after Glen Cove's  Gonzalo Carignano punched one past a diving Deven Khosla on a breakaway shot.

The Cyclones had jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead when senior Mike Marano and Harkins both scored within seven minutes of each other on shots inside the 18-yard box. After Glen Cove scored though, South Side's defense tightened up, and the Knights could barely move the ball into its offensive zone. South Side kept firing shots on goal — 17 in total — and their aggressiveness paid off toward the back end of the first half.

"Our team had so many opportunities and we made the right passes," Marano said about the team's first half. "We came to play today."

Marano fired another shot on goal that deflected off the right post, but Harkins was there to punch in the rebound. Not too much later, junior Kevin Cook laced a cross from about 20 yards out, and Harkins smashed a header past a diving Scott Nicolich to increase South Side's lead to 4-1. Senior Kyle Davis added another goal with five minutes left in the half to lift South Side's total to five, which was enough to seal the win for the Cyclones.

"Chris did what we asked him to do," Paul said. "He crashes the net."

Harkins said he took advantage of some open gaps and hesitation by Glen Cove's defenders. "They were a little slow on the right wing, so I took advantage of it," he explained. "It was just open on my side. No one was on me."

South Side dominated every facet of the game. The Cyclones fired 17 shots compared to Glen Cove's three; and South Side had eight corner kicks to Glen Cove's one.

The Cyclones play No. 7 New Hyde Park in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at Skelos Field North at 4:30 p.m.