Kennedy-Mepham ends in draw
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Mepham's Dante Ippolito clears the ball into Kennedy's zone during Monday's Conference AA-II scoreless tie between the locals.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
Judging by roster makeup, Kennedy and Mepham couldn’t be any different on the boys soccer field. The Cougars are backed by a veteran core returning from a two-round run through the Nassau Class AA playoffs, while the Pirates fielded a lineup with five sophomore starters in a 3-2 loss to Plainview to open their season.
Despite the glaring differences, however, the results were the same when the teams met in their only matchup of the regular season last Monday. Neither offense could push a goal through in a 0-0 tie.
The scoreless tie, Kennedy’s second of the year, improved its early conference record to 1-0-2, heading into a stretch of three conference games in a six-game span ending when Long Beach visits on Tuesday. Junior Thomas Anagnostou notched his first shutout of the year with four saves against Mepham (0-1-1) and continues to battle for playing time with junior Jason Weisfeld, who was in the middle of a scoreless tie of his own against defending Conference I-ABC champion Jericho in the opener. “It’s a tremendous confidence boost to see we can play with one of the top teams in Nassau County,” Kennedy coach Jason Elias said.
Able to run out experienced starters at nearly every position, Elias is looking towards a 15-player rotation for the 11 starters. “We have 15 legitimate starters,” he said. “It’s a nice thing this year. We’ve never had that ‘problem.”
Junior co-captain Drew Slotnick, a three-year starter, is back at sweeper, alongside an even more experienced fullback, senior Steven Katz, now in his fourth-year as a starter. Seniors Ryan Siegel and Jordan Goldberg, are also in the mix on the back line with senior Andrew Kruter at stopper. Seniors Pedro Morico, Eric Smith and Andrew Simon are all in line for playing time at midfield, where the anchor of the unit is senior Jordan Stein, a four-year varsity member and three-year starter. “He’s our everything player,” Elias said. “I couldn’t imagine being successful without him in the lineup.”
The Cougars skilled group of forwards is led by junior Andrew Hirsch, senior Sico Brack, senior Jared Lerman, and junior Justin Harrison.
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