Kennedy squeaks by Elmont

Kennedy’s defense worked feverishly to keep Elmont’s leading scorer Ben Odugbesan from being the difference in last Saturday’s Conference B-II boys’ lacrosse game, and it was mission accomplished for a group led by junior Brandon Klein.

The Cougars’ offense did just enough to secure a 4-3 victory, getting two goals apiece from juniors Christopher Jones and Dan Harman. Jones scored with 7:40 remaining and senior goaltender Alex Naftal made three point-blank saves in the final two minutes as Kennedy avenged last year’s loss to the Spartans and improved to 8-2. Hartman scored twice in the first half and set up Jones’ tying goal late in the third quarter, while Elmont (7-3) got two goals and an assist from junior Daniel Crawford.

“This was an important win for a lot of reasons,” Kennedy coach Craig Papach said. “We still have work to do, but two weeks down the road we might look back at this game as the reason we’re in the playoffs. Our kids wanted this one. They didn’t forget last year’s loss to Elmont that hurt our playoff seeding.”

The Spartans have come a long way under coach James Carretta and seek a postseason berth after knocking on the door last spring. They enjoyed a considerable time-of-possession advantage and twice battled back from a one-goal deficit to lead the Cougars 3-2 after junior Nicholas St. Louis’ tally 4:15 into the second half. However, the hosts slammed the door thereafter and became the first opponent this year to keep Odugbesan out of the boxscore.

“We did a lot of the same good things we’ve done all year, but we just didn’t finish,” Carretta said. “We played really well, but they matched our intensity and found a way to win.

More than 10 minutes elapsed before Hartman opened the scoring, taking a pass from senior Keith Safon and beating Elmont senior goalie Marvin Sibrian (seven saves) with 1:59 to go in the first quarter. Junior defender Ralph Faiella ignited an end-to-end rush when he forced a turnover, cleared the ball out of Kennedy’s zone and fed it to Safon. Crawford answered to make it 1-1 by quarter’s end.

After Hartman regained the lead for the Cougars midway through the second quarter, Crawford pulled the Spartans even again with another nifty individual effort. Naftal (14 saves) preserved the halftime tie by denying Odugbesan and Brandon Brown in tight.

“Alex has been one of the keys to our success,” Papach said of Naftal. “He plays with a lot of heart and always gives everything he’s got.”

Elmont, which got five goals from Odugbesan and three apiece from Willie Johnson and Qusarn Caldwell in a 14-6 victory over Wheatley in its previous game, couldn’t solve Kennedy’s defense over the final 19-plus minutes. Klein, Faiella, and senior Tyler Goldberg led the way in front of Naftal.

“We didn’t want to lose to Elmont again,” Naftal said. “We feel good about how we’re playing and we have to get ready for a tough ending to the schedule.”