Brennan's goal gives Hicksville AA title
Hicksville High School players, from left, #14 Kyle Brennan, #23 William Merz and #13 Dimitri Partsenevlos react after their team evens the score 1-1 against Great Neck South in the first half of the Nassau County varsity boys soccer Class AA final at Hofstra University. (Nov. 9, 2011) Credit: James Escher
If Great Neck South's run to the finals as a 10 seed didn't get Hicksville's attention, a goal by Brandon Sozomenu just 2:40 into the game certainly did. It was the smelling salt the Comets needed and they responded with five consecutive goals in a 5-3 win over Great Neck South Wednesday night in the Nassau Class AA boys soccer championship at Hofstra.
Hicksville (15-1-2) will play the winner of Thursday night's Brentwood-West Islip in the Long Island Class AA championship / Southeast Regional final at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Adelphi.
"Going down 1-0 boosted our confidence," Hicksville's Peter DiLorenzo said. "It was a wake-up call."
Dimitri Partsenevlos scored on a header off a corner kick from Christian Bonilla 4:40 after the GNS goal. The Comets made it 2-1 when DiLorenzo headed one in with 24:19 left in the first half.
"They reacted well," Hicksville coach Scott Starkey said. "They didn't get down and responded quickly."
Kyle Poetzsch scored off a rebound to push the lead to 3-1 with 30:03 left in the game. Kyle Brennan scored with 20:57 left to give the Comets a 4-1 lead and Robert Aranov made it 5-1.
It was a terrific and surprising run for GNS, which made its first appearance in the final in 38 seasons. GNS (10-8-1) went 1-3-1 in the final five games of the regular season before three straight playoff wins.
Hicksville won its second championship in three seasons after losing on penalty kicks in the semifinals last season.
"We have had some superstars in the past," Starkey said. "This year it's so balanced."
