Blue heaven: Beacon sweeps PSAL Class A soccer crowns

St. John’s University’s Belson Stadium was painted blue on Sunday – Beacon High School blue.

The Manhattan school on the Upper West Side swept the PSAL Class A titles in boys and girls soccer, marking the first time in PSAL history a school has won both crowns in the same year in the highest classification. Separated by two hours, the two teams alternated celebrations and victory laps around the soccer stadium in Queens.

“We knew once they won it was our turn and we had to step up and do that,” senior sweeper Jesse White said.

The fourth-seeded boys ended three years of postseason heartache in penalty kicks by topping No. 2 Francis Lewis in – what else? – penalty kicks, 4-3, after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer. The top-seeded and undefeated girls, which reached the title each of the last two years only to fall short, didn’t need extra time to take out No. 3 Tottenville, 2-0.

Damion Reid

Beacon became the first school to sweep the PSAL Class A boys and girls soccer titles on Sunday.

Photos: PSAL Class A city championship game

“I think it’s a beautiful soccer that we play,” said girls coach Kevin Jacobs, who finished his 10th year. “This boys team is fantastic and we play very similar games. We are two teams that play possession soccer.”

After the recent heartbreak, both celebrations were lengthy and, several players said, exhilarating. The matches were the talk of the school on Friday, with tons of students attending the games in Jamaica, Queens on Sunday.

Since the girls soccer season was moved from the spring to the fall, the two teams get to see one another play often, though they have remained close. Jacobs coaches the girls, but is still an assistant with the boys. The teams practice together when they can and often hang out together in their free time. After the boys thrilling victory, a few of the girls brought out their championships trophy to pose with photos.

“We are going crazy,” junior midfielder Alex Easton said. “We’re going to have a huge party.”

Boys coach Alec Mahrer credited the kids in both programs for their work ethic, commitment and resolve under tough situations.

“We have very coachable kids who take it very seriously,” Mahrer said after winning his second title. “It’s just amazing for the school.”

Their road to the title was somewhat different. The boys needed to rally to beat John Adams in the quarterfinals, shocking four-time champion Martin Luther King Jr. in the semifinals in double overtime and outlasted Francis Lewis in penalty kicks. The girls, by contrast, never trailed in four dominant playoff victories.

“It means a lot that they won and we won,” said senior forward Joseph Nikic, who clinched the boys victory in penalty kicks. “We can celebrate together.”

Nobody was sure what Monday in school will be like, but Nikic was looking forward to waking up and heading to class.

“Everybody’s going to be excited,” the captain said. "I don't know what to expect."

zbraziller@nypost.com