Freeman, Gross have Hills East in position

Harvard-bound midfielder Jake Freeman scored a hat trick to lead Hills East (14-1-1, 13-0-1) over West Islip on Thursday to give the Thunderbirds their first boys soccer league championship since 1996.

Freeman, a four-year varsity player, is among the leading scorers on Long Island with 16 goals and 16 assists. As talented as Freeman is, Hills East coach Tiziano Carcone said his whole team needs to execute in order for Freeman to be at his best.

"I think relying on a player and having a player be a main part of your team are two different things," Carcone said. "He has to score and distribute. He can't distribute if everyone's not doing their part."

Hills East earned the No. 2 seed in the highly competitive Suffolk Class AA playoffs, no small feat for the Thunderbirds. Hills East has been a winning program under Carcone but he said the outlook was bleak when he was hired five years ago after serving as an assistant at Hills West.

"There were no expectations because when there's a long break between championships the expectations go away," he said. "People assume you're going to lose."

Outstanding play by Freeman and goalkeeper Jordan Gross, whose nine shutouts are tied for fifth in the county, have the Thunderbirds poised to challenge the perennial powers in Suffolk for the county title.

"I have the entire school believing and it's a great feeling," Carcone said. "Kids, administration, faculty, coming up to you and asking, 'How are you going to do? How does Jake feel?' because they're excited."