A chilly November evening with a fired-up crowd and nearly two thousand fans in attendance at the neutral field at Islip High School. Two Long Island soccer titans were getting ready to battle it out for the Suffolk County AAA championship.
The buzz in the air was different tonight as the green jerseys warmed up on one side of the field and white on the opposite. These two teams faced off earlier this season and ended up in a deadlock tie after regulation and one overtime period.
Championship games like these don’t end in ties though, this is “lose and sit down.” There has to be one winner and one loser. Even if that means facing off in penalty kicks after a double overtime draw.
Commack and Brentwood are two nearby communities. Their high schools are just 8.2 miles apart yet couldn’t be any more different. But what these two communities have in common is their passion for the game of soccer and their ability to persevere to win. Both schools have won County, Island and State titles. Both are also currently nationally ranked teams.
The Commack Cougars came out of the gate looking sharp. Their touch, touch, long pass and run style of soccer worked almost immediately as Ryan Curcio scored in the first few moments of the game. Brentwood eventually kindled their own fire later in the half getting multiple really clear looks at the goal.
The Cougars remained on top at halftime by the score of 1-0.
Brentwood came out swinging early in the second half as they controlled much of the ball possession and kept the Cougars on their heels. Commack struck again though on a breakaway goal by Ferenc Bagi as the Cougars went up 2-0 at around the twenty-five-minute mark.
Brentwood did answer back with a goal which restarted the energy in their crowd, bench and towards possibly striking again and tying up the game.
It never happened though, and the Commack Cougars were crowned the large schoolboy’s soccer champs of Suffolk County for the first time since 2020. Commack will play against Herricks High School this Saturday at 2 p.m. for the Long Island crown and a possible trip upstate to compete for a NYS championship.
Congratulations to the Commack Cougars and best of luck on Saturday!
(Photo taken from Commack Central School District Facebook page)
