H-ton’s Magic Ends in Overtime at Central Islip
With both squads looking to make a surprise appearance in the county finals, the Central Islip and Huntington High School boys’ soccer teams battled into overtime on Monday afternoon before the Musketeers managed to get a 15 yard free kick barely past the Blue Devils’ superb goalie Lee Reiver and squeak to a 1-0 victory.
Central Islip (16-2) has never played in the county finals. Huntington was bidding to advance to its first boys’ soccer championship game since 1971 when it lost to North Babylon, 3-0. The Blue Devils and Center Moriches were county co-champions in 1963 and 1964 after the teams played to overtime ties in both years.
No. 15 Huntington (10-5-5) played a good, crisp game Monday afternoon at Central Islip. The Blue Devils took four shots on goal and displayed their typically aggressive defense, repeatedly foiling the Musketeers. Reiver stopped eight shots and helped send the game into overtime.
It wasn’t until No. 3 Central Islip’s Miseal Rosa scored in the 84th minute of the game that either team found the back of the net. While the Musketeers celebrated their victory, the Blue Devils found solace in consoling one another after a sensational post-season run the likes of which Huntington hasn’t experienced since the late 1980s.
Like his teammates, Reiver was upset. The senior notched 10 shutouts this fall and was again exceptional in goal against Central Islip. “I want to start out by saying that I could not be more proud of our entire team and thanking them for making this season an experience I won’t ever forget,” Reiver said after the game. “These guys made this more than about soccer and I realized how important it is to be a family like we were. It really hurts knowing that the run is over, but we did something Huntington hasn’t done in 30 years. I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Blue Devils advanced to the county semi-finals after turning back No. 18 Comsewogue, No. 2 Half Hollow Hills West and No. 10 Hauppauge all by identical 1-0 scores.
Despite the improbable run, it still stung Huntington’s players to fall to Central Islip. “It was really tough losing that game, especially in overtime, but I never questioned the heart of my teammates,” Reiver said. “They worked so hard all game and it just didn’t go our way this time.”
Central Islip will play No. 1 Smithtown West (18-0-1) for the Suffolk Class AA championship on Thursday at Dowling Sports Complex at 6 p.m. The Bulls notched a come-from-behind overtime victory over No. 4 Brentwood, 3-2 to reach the finals.
“It would be nice to play in that game Thursday, but we put Huntington soccer on the map and did all we could,” Reiver said. “The fan support was amazing all year and they made us feel like we were really important to everyone and that gave us that extra push to leave everything we had on the field. As much as I want today’s game back, this has been an unbelievable season with unbelievable coaches and, of course, teammates.”