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Mostly Cloudy Hewlett nets overtime victory
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Goalkeeper Zachary Feuer was clutch in Hewlett's playoff win over Valley Stream South.
Kathy Leistner/Herald
The way Hewlett’s Zachary Feuer and Valley Stream South’s Henoc Bienne were turning aside shots, last Saturday’s Nassau Class A boys’ soccer first-round playoff game had penalty kick shootout written all over it.
But Bulldogs junior Aaron Zohar didn’t let it get that far. His first-ever varsity goal 9:30 into overtime gave the Conference ABC-III champions a 1-0 victory over the sixth-seeded Falcons, who had three golden opportunities late in regulation and one in overtime foiled by Feuer.
“They had some big chances late in the game and I was never so scared in my life,” said Feuer, a senior who totaled seven saves. “But our defense held up, and there’s nobody I would’ve trusted more with the ball at his feet than Aaron. He made a great play to score.”
Zohar took advantage of a giveaway by the Falcons and beat Bienne (seven saves), a junior, with a low left-footed shot to send the No. 11 Bulldogs into the quarterfinal round where they were set to take on third-seeded Roslyn on Wednesday, after press time. "I saw it go in and just ran toward my teammates to celebrate," Zohar said. "It felt great."
Hewlett stretched its unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1) with the win, and one more upset would land them in Sunday's semifinal at Mitchel Athletic Complex at 10:30 a.m. against either No. 2 South Side or seventh-seeded New Hyde Park.
“These guys tasted success last year and they’re a hungry group,” Bulldogs coach Nick Lacetera said. “Our defense and keeper have been tremendous and we get goals from different kids all the time. We never know who’s going to step up and score, and today was a perfect example.”
It was a tough ending to the season for the young Falcons, who finished 2-9-1 in Conference ABC-I but started only three seniors: Angel Aguirre, Anthony Carreras and Yazeid Hamarsha. Aguirre made the play of the first half in the goalmouth, heading a shot from Hewlett junior Jacob Weinstock out of harm’s way.
“We had more than our share of chances,” South coach Rich Boyd said. “We didn’t convert from in close and we squandered a corner kick in overtime. We played hard, but we didn’t come through in big moments.”
Hamarsha twice came within inches of being the offensive hero. His direct free kick with 2:30 remaining in regulation caught the top of the crossbar, and 30 seconds later he was denied from point-blank range by a diving Feuer. South junior Brandon Negron blasted a shot wide of the left post with a minute to go in the second half, and Feuer made a lunging stop off sophomore Flynn Shanahan in overtime.
During a regular season that saw them claim the conference top spot with a 9-2-1 record, the Bulldogs had seven players score at least two goals. Junior Max Mena is their leader with five, followed by Weinstock, senior Andrew Chambers and juniors Brett Isaac and Matt Michaelson. Senior C.J. Brady, a two-way playmaker in the midfield, has a team-high six assists.
The defense in front of Feuer was again led by seniors Jacob Tobias and Idan Sasson and juniors Michael Taft and Landon Acriche. “It’s always a team effort for us,” Feuer said. “We’re all brothers and in this together.”
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