Kennedy Seniors Among Island's Best in Boys Soccer

Kennedy High School was well-represented Saturday in what amounts to Long Island's high school soccer All-Star game.  

Drew Satnick and Andrew Boyer were both exuberant (if not nearly frostbitten) to have had the chance to play with the best of their peers, and more importantly, for the dozens of college coaches and scouts that were in attendance.

Nassau's exceptional seniors played their Suffolk counterparts to a 1-1 draw in bitterly cold conditions on Saturday afternoon at Peter C. Collins Soccer Park in Plainview.

"It was a great experience playing with the best seniors on Long Island," Satnick said.

Nassau's Miguel Martinez (Locust Valley) drew first blood in the 10th minute with a low strike from just outside the goal mouth to give Nassau a 1-0 lead.

Nassau goalkeeper Helder Corriera made the lead stand up with a spectacular sequence when he made a diving stop on a penalty kick by Suffolk's Christian Caballero (Huntington) and then immediately went horizontal to stop Caballero again when he tried to bang home the rebound just before the end of the first half.

But eventually, Suffolk would not be denied. The "Reds" applied a ton of pressure late in the match and finally broke through when Avery Raimondo (Westhampton) cashed in a corner kick to tie the score in the 78th minute.

Naturally, Nassau was disappointed not to hold on for the win, but Mineola head coach Paul Pereira put the experience into perspective.

"We do this because we love the sport," Pereira said. "For us to sit back and enjoy and watch kids at every position who are talented, it's a lot of fun."

Carle Place head coach Allen Foraker saw the more tangible positive in the match for the kids.

"The whole purpose of this game is to get these kids to the next level," Foraker said. "In a game like this, a lot of guys get on to play college soccer. A lot of the local colleges come down, a lot of the city schools. It's beneficial for everybody."

Kennedy can be proud to call two of its own among those beneficiaries.

As he did all season for the Cougars, Satnick played the entire 80 minutes of the match, anchoring Nassau's defense from the center fullback position.

"I had a lot of fun," Satnick said. "Great coaching. It was a hard game, but it was great."

Boyer made the most of his opportunities by winning several balls and forcing the action while he was in the game.

"I just tried out and I made the team," said Boyer matter-of-factly. "It was special; I'll always remember it."