Cougars, Colts Battle to Scoreless Draw in Boys Soccer

When the Kennedy Cougars and Calhoun Colts boys soccer teams meet, it always serves to be an intense fight until the clock runs out.

Tuesday's game at Kennedy High School did not disappoint, as the cross town rivals played to a scoreless tie in a critical Conference III league match-up.

"It was just as I thought it would be, a battle to the end," said Calhoun coach Jim Cantley. "It was a hard-fought, emotional cross town rivalry match, so it has always been this. Both teams had their chances."

Calhoun (3-2-2) had a handful of opportunities to take a lead on Kennedy (1-4-2) in the first half, but senior goalkeeper Tom Anagostou was able to fend off the early pressure from the Colts.

However, the savior of the match may have been the Colts' own goalkeeper, senior Andrew LaClaustra. With the game in the balance, Kennedy senior Mitch Kaplain took a pass for a breakaway and put a shot on net with just under 10 minutes remaining. LaClaustra made the diving save to keep the game tied and proved again why he serves as one of the top goalkeepers in Nassau County.

"Andrew is just outstanding," said Cantley. "He made some great saves today and really kept us in the game."

The Cougars controlled the pace much of the second half, forcing LaClaustra, as well as Calhoun defenders Daniel Elliot and Andrew Lief to stay on their heels. Kaplain had by far the best opportunity at breaking the scoreless tie, but it was to no avail.

"I thought it was a great effort by everyone," said Kaplain. "I'm not disappointed in the way we played. I am very confident that if we play like we did today for the rest of the season, we could be very successful."

After suffering four straight losses to start off the season, Kennedy, which lost 15 seniors from their dominant 10-win season in 2009, knew very well of the uphill climb it would face. The Cougars have not lost in their last three league match-ups with a record of 1-0-2.

"We are improving every game," said Kennedy coach Jason Elias. "We haven't scored a goal in two games, but ended up with two ties, so that tells you something about our defense. We had opportunities, but weren't putting them back."

Seniors Michael Teich and Michael Brod were just a few of the Kennedy players who fought hard until the end in what the Cougars hope to be a turning point to their season.

"The truth is that we have some great heart and got guys that have dedication to this team and hopefully we'll end up making the playoffs," said Elias. "If we keep getting efforts like this, then I'll be pretty happy."

Senior co-captain Brian Grambo created a number of chances for Calhoun, but some tough calls against the visiting Colts halted their efforts.

"We knew the calls weren't going our way, so we just pushed as hard as we could to try to get that goal in the last couple of minutes," Grambo said. "In the second half of the season, we are going to be flying under the radar. No one is going to know that we will be coming up."

Calhoun will take on a tough Mepham team at home on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The Colts defeated the Pirates last month 1-0.

The Cougars will have a few days off before they hit the road to take on that same Mepham team next Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.