Calhoun eliminates East Meadow

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Calhoun continued to storm through October, keeping its unbeaten mark this month intact with a 4-1 victory over No. 10 East Meadow (4-6-4 overall) in the first round of the Nassau County Class AA boys’ soccer playoffs last Friday.

Attacking from the opening minute, the No. 7 Colts (6-1-5 overall) never took their foot off the gas pedal, scoring twice in each half to improve their record to 6-0-2 in the last eight games and advance to the second round after presstime against No. 2 Plainview JFK. The Colts have scored 13 goals in the last four games.

“They’re very good on the turf,” East Meadow coach Bob Elder said. “We’re more of a [mudder] team. They’re a good quality squad. We played hard and competed but we didn’t put pressure on them offensively.”

Pressure was what Jets senior All-County goalkeeper Mike Warren felt all game. While he kept East Meadow in it with a number of diving saves, Calhoun used precision passing and great positioning on each of its four goals. Senior Ethan Tiff capped the scoring in the 75th minute taking a perfectly placed thru ball from sophomore Mike Harten and putting it past Warren.

The Colts’ top scoring forward, senior Shaun Bartholomew (11 goals), tallied one goal in each half, the latter coming in the 53rd minute that gave Calhoun an insurmountable two-goal edge. Rather than settle down a pass deep in East Meadow territory with Warren charging towards him, Bartholomew softly tapped the ball over the goalie and it bounced into the net with no defenders in the area. He also opened the scoring in the game’s 17th minute, converting a centering pass from senior Matthew Krause. “He manages to fight through double teams and doesn’t need much [space],” Colts coach Jim Cantley said of Bartholomew. “Our gameplan and our style is possession and simple passes without giving the ball away.”

Among the unsung heroes for Calhoun was senior sweeper Eric Rawson, who not only netted an assist on the go-ahead goal scored by sophomore Mike Harten in the 31st minute but steered a number of balls clear of his own goalie, senior Anthony Curcio (six saves). Harten, who also had two assists, was in perfect position for a rebound after Warren made an initial diving save on a shot by Rawson. Harten one-timed it in before Warren, or any Jets defender could clear out the rebound.

Rawson found himself making several aggressive plays on the ball deep in his own end, and also helped jumpstart several rushes in transition with long kicks to clear Calhoun’s defensive zone. “He’s our last line of defense [before the goalie],” Cantley said. “He’s tenacious. He’s one of our captains and has speed and a powerful [leg].”

East Meadow’s only goal came on a leaping header by senior Jake Healy, who moved up into the offensive end when senior Alberto Fernandez lined up for a free kick. Healy’s head rose above the pack, and he re-directed it into the upper right corner of the net to tie the game 1-1 in the first half.