Saturday, November 8, 2025
The Calhoun boys’ soccer team cruised through the season undefeated and made its way to the county championship game for the first time since 2016.
But the Colts ran into a juggernaut in the final, falling 4-1 to Garden City in the Nassau Class AA title game at Farmingdale State College Saturday night.
The top-seeded Trojans (17-2-0) won their second straight county title and 14th overall in their ninth straight appearance in the game and advance to the Long Island ‘AA’ final against either Northport or Deer Park.
Second-seeded Calhoun (16-1-1) trailed for the first time this season when Jack Klein pounced on an errant backpass and scored from the edge of the 18-yard box to give Garden City the lead in the 19th minute.
The Trojans hit the post twice and the crossbar once in the first half, narrowly missing chances to extend their lead.
Liam Brown nearly equalized for the Colts in the 32nd minute on a sensational solo effort, splitting a pair of defenders into the box before rolling his low shot just wide of the far post from 14 yards out.
“That goal would have been huge,” Calhoun coach Chris Vogel said. “It would’ve relieved some pressure, and we could go back to just playing simple mobile soccer.”
Oliver Williams doubled Garden City’s lead in the 52nd minute, blasting the ball in from the edge of the six-yard box after a wide shot from Jacob Cooper caromed off a Calhoun defender on the end line.
After Austin Sheehan made a sensational save on a Williams header, the senior forward, who netted a hat trick in a 4-0 semifinal win over Long Beach, added his second goal in the 72nd minute with a blast under the crossbar.
Calhoun, which was vying to win a fourth county title in program history, got on the scoreboard five minutes later when senior Lucas Nangle buried his penalty kick after being knocked over in the box.
But Williams completed his hat trick with 1:12 left in regulation to put the game away.
“There’s no shame in losing to Garden City,” Vogel said of the message to his team after the match. “They are a battle-tested team who has a strong chance to win the states. This is what we wanted, to go against the best. Don’t let this one game wash over how well we played for the last two years. There is a lot to be proud of.”
Calhoun opened the playoffs with a 6-0 quarterfinal victory over No. 10 New Hyde Park. Drew Lennon and Jonas Wan scored two goals apiece, Jacob Basso and Brown added one goal each, and Nangle had a pair of assists.
In a battle of undefeated teams in the semifinals, the Colts knocked off No. 3 South Side, 1-0, with Patrick Walsh netting the game-winner with 4:05 remaining in regulation time off an assist from Nangle. Sheehan made four saves in the shutout.
