Kennedy Boys Soccer Ousted by Rebels in Quarterfinals

The 10th-seeded Kennedy Cougars played up a man for most of the second half, in Wednesday's Class AA quarterfinal, but could not take advantage and fell to the second-seeded Great Neck South Rebels 1-0.

In a game that saw a total of four yellow cards and one red card, none was bigger than when Great Neck South junior Ron Hauser was red-carded just three minutes into the second half after intentionally taking down a Kennedy player. The red card put the Rebels down one man and put the Cougars in prime position to take control of what was a scoreless game.

But 10 minutes into the half, Rebel senior Adam Warner collected a loose ball and crossed it into the box. Senior captain Hector Lasso got his foot on the ball and placed it into the corner to give Great Neck South the 1-0 lead.

It had appeared that Kennedy had tied the game up with 16 minutes remaining after senior captain Justin Harrison buried a loose ball into the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed on a questionable offsides call that left head coach Jason Elias and the Kennedy faithful confused, angry, and disappointed.

"Having a goal taken away is devastating," Elias said. "It's just devastating to have a goal taken away that was a goal. … We didn't do anything wrong, it just went the other way. They're a quality team. We lost to a good team."

Score: Great Neck South 1, Kennedy 0

Records: Great Neck South 12-0-1; Kennedy 4-5-4

Hero: Despite the loss, Kennedy senior captain Mitch Kaplain had an impressive game for the Cougars. Kaplain was constantly moving and putting pressure on the ball. He seemed to be challenging almost every loose ball on the field and won a majority of them. His hustle gave the Cougars a number of opportunities to score.

"He's all heart," said Elias of his senior captain. "He's not about a fresh touch, he's not about a solid shot, he's not about winning every ball with his skill, he's about winning every ball with his heart and his head and whatever it takes to win a ball. He's a senior leader."

Turning Point: It looked like the turning point in Wednesday's match was Hauser's red card, but Lasso turned tragedy into triumph but putting his team ahead when they needed it most. The goal changed the way the Rebels needed to play and put the Cougars in an unfavorable position on the road.

"We were up a man," Elias said. "When you're up a man you have to score a goal. I know it's hard to hear and it's hard for them, but we were up a man and we got beat."

Quotable: "I'm just happy we played them 50-50 and nobody is going to leave this field and think we got outplayed," said Elias after the game. "They're the better skilled team but there's no doubt we're the team with more heart. I'm proud of my boys."

Bottom Line: While the end result was certainly disappointing for the Kennedy coaches, players and fans, the team certainly out-hustled Great Neck South. One defensive lapse and a few bad calls were all it took to turn the tides on the Cougars. However, Kennedy's 10th seed in the playoffs was no indication of how much heart and effort the team put forth in each game this season.

"It was an amazing effort, it just didn't work out for us," Kaplan said. "… We definitely had opportunities. I didn't really agree with the offsides call when we put the ball in the back of the net, but it happens; it's soccer."

Key Stat:  The Cougars played up a man for the final 37:12 of the game.

Class AA Playoffs

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