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Light Rain Kennedy seeks first title
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Kennedy's Sico Brack controls the ball with Carey's Peter Rosini in pursuit during a 1-1 tie between the Conference AA-II rivals on Oct. 14.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
A blast off the foot of Chris Martelli with 11:08 remaining gave visiting Carey a 1-1 tie with Kennedy in a Conference AA-II boys’ soccer game on Oct. 14.
Martelli’s goal, which came off a direct kick from 30 yards out and sailed into the upper left corner, was only the third allowed by the Cougars in 10 conference games. The tie allowed them to clinch a playoff spot and a win over Hempstead two days later kept them in contention for their first-ever conference championship.
“This was a precursor to the type of game we’re going to be involved in come playoff time,” Kennedy coach Jason Elias said. “Our defense played well. They have three or four very dangerous players. We had some chances to go up two goals, but we left it out there for them and they tied us with a great shot.”
The Cougars (9-0-2) struck first when senior Jared Lerman banged home a rebound inside the box just 4:58 into the game. On most days that would’ve been enough for the win, since junior goalkeepers Tom Anagnostou and Jason Weisfeld have combined for eight shutouts.
But the Seahawks (6-2-2) never let up and earned a much-needed point in the playoff race. “There’s nothing wrong with coming back to get a tie on the road against an undefeated team,” Carey coach Matt Princi said. “The kids kept battling after we fell behind early and I thought we had the better of the play in the last 20 minutes.”
The Cougars were riding an incredible seven-game conference winning streak that saw only East Meadow score against them. Working behind a defense sparked by junior sweeper Drew Satnick and senior fullbacks Steven Katz and Jordan Goldberg, Weisfeld blanked Herricks, Long Beach and Plainview-JFK during the run, Anagnostou shutout Freeport and Uniondale, and they teamed with junior Rob Russo to foil Valley Stream Central. “The way we’ve been able to shut down a lot of teams is a testament to hard work and pride,” Elias said.
As far as offense, the Cougars feature six multi-goal scorers. The goal against Carey was Lerman’s team-leading fourth. Senior Jordan Stein and juniors Andrew Hirsch and Mitch Kaplain have three apiece and seniors Ryan Siegel and Andrew Simon each have a pair. Stein, the overtime hero in last year’s playoff-opening 1-0 victory at Calhoun, leads in assists with four.
“So far we’ve reached every goal we put up on our board,” Elias said. “We’re in a legitimate conference and our eyes are on the prize. It would be a wonderful thing if we can win it.”
The Cougars control their own destiny but couldn’t be facing a tougher ending to the regular season with Baldwin (10-0-1) and Great Neck South (7-1-3) as remaining opponents.
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