It's not often that anyone gets such a big second chance, especially soon after falling short. nly a year after finishing as runners-up at the U.S. Youth Soccer nationals, the Hicksville Strikers will get another opportunity for the title as they become in the Boys Under-17 group in Overland Park, Kansas this week.
"We needed a second chance," Hicksville coach Gary Nemeth said at the Long Island Junior Soccer League scholarship ceremonies Sunday. "Losing in the national finals last year left a bad taste in our mouth. If we didn't have an opportunity to go back to the nationals, we'd all be disappointed. We feel we have a good opportunity, but so do a lot of other teams."
Nemeth said he felt the Strikers, who finished second in the U-16 age group last year, were destined to return, thanks to their talent and hard work.
"I believe it was destiny and these guys were destined to go back to the national tournament," he said. "It doesn't matter if we're down. It doesn't matter if we're not playing well. We find a way to win. These kids have so much character more than anything.
"The reason that they achieved so much is the character they have, the work they are willing to put in. It's been rewarded. They train hard. They're unbelievable soccer players, good people. They deserve to win these championships. So i'm proud of the boys."
It's not easy winning a State Cup, let alone a Region I title.
In the Open Cup semifinals, the Strikers went to the 10th penalty kicker as goalkeeper Christopher Maierle saved their foes' final attempt.
"It wasn't an easy ride, but we all knew that we could do it," Nemeth said.
It got more difficult at the regionals.
"It was absolutely brutal," Nemeth said. "We were in the group of death."
That included YMS Thunder (Pa. East), Arlington Vencom (Va.) and the Potomac Cougars (Md.)
"To get out of [the first round], it was tough," Nemeth added. "Going up there, one player was sick, couldn't make the first day. The first day of training before our first game, our center midfielder goes down. Our third game, our big guy, Keith McKenna, breaks his nose. And in the finals, we lose Colin Heffron, who scores most of our goals. Was it easy? No."
The Strikers defeated YMS, 3-0.
"We came out strong," Nemeth said. "We played YMS in the Region I semifinals and beat them 3-2. So we knew they were talented. We went at them. and put three quick ones on them and that was the end."
Arlington grabbed a 1-0 lead off a weird bounce of the ball on a questionable field and Nemeth decided to switch his formation to a 3-4-3 from a 4-4-2.
"We played a little more direct because we couldn't knock it around the field because of the conditions," he said as Hicksville connected for the equalizer in what was a 1-1 draw.
Entering their third and final group match, three teams that were in contention for the semifinals. YMS grabbed a 1-0 lead over Arlington and Hicksville found itself in a scoreless tie with Potomac
"If it stayed 0-0 YMS would go through," Nemeth said. "It was tough. after our player went down, we rebounded quickly. We scored two goals."
Next up was FSA FC United WHP S.C. from Connecticut, which Nemeth said was "fantastic. That game could have gone either way. It was whoever was going to make a mistake and who was going to finish their opportunities was going to win that game. I was really, really impressed with them."
The Strikers prevailed, 1-0.
In the final, Hicksville took on the FC Stars of Massachusetts. Nemeth was concerned because the Stars' coaches coached at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where Maierle will attend this fall.
"The finals was a unique game," Nemeth said. "My goalkeeper, Chris Maierle who I have so much respect for and who is a leader, was playing his future college coaches. I was a little concerned about that. we started off the first 15-20 minutes. We were a little flat. We still had possession of the ball. We had a handball. They take a shot. It hits the wall the guy gets it back. It deflects off a defender and goes into the upper 90 and we're down 1-0."
Needing at least a goal, Nemeth decided to go to a 3-4-3.
"We pressed them. We scored 15 minutes into it," he said. "I always go to my captains what formation do you feel comfortable? Did we want to go back to a 4-4-2? He said, 'Coach, we got him, let us go. Don't change the formation.' Timmy Parker made the call. We went up 2-1 and then we played back and sat in in a 4-4-2.
At noon Wednesday, the Strikers take on the Alpharetta Ambush 93 Red (Ga.), before playing the Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (PA-E) at 10 a.m. Thursday and West Coast FC 92 (Cal South) at 8 a.m. Friday. The final is 8 a.m. Sunday.
Nemeth said the Strikers played the Ambush to a scoreless tie in a tournament last year.
"They're on fire right now," he said, noting the Ambush recently defeated GSA, the No. 1 team in country in the Boys U-17 age group, 4-1 in the regional finals.
"We know that they're good," Nemeth said. "They're athletic. They're going to play with us. There's a team from California. We got a a great scouting report from the New Mexico coach."
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