Hastings ousts Carle Place in state Class ‘B’ Southeast Regional
Hastings varsity boys soccer teammates celebrate after their 4-0 win over Carle Place in the Class B Southeast Regional on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. Credit: James Escher
As Tommy Browne and the Carle Place boys soccer team huddled around coach Allen Foraker one last time, not a tear was shed.
The Frogs’ season had just ended in a 4-0 loss to Hastings Saturday at Mitchel Athletic Complex. A win would have added a Class B Southeast Regional championship to Carle Place’s 2016 list of accomplishments. The Frogs would have earned a bid to the state semifinals, too, for the first time since they won the 2013 title.
But nobody appeared distraught. Instead, they marveled at the success they had after graduating a significant amount of talent from their 2015 Nassau title team. This group one-upped last year’s with a Long Island championship.
“It’s just incredible because we didn’t think we were going to get this far, really,” Browne, a senior captain, said. “We lost a lot [of seniors] last year and we came back strong. We made it all the way here. It was a good season.”
One of the best in program history. Other than the 2013 team, only one other Carle Place squad went further — the 1991 group that lost in the state championship.
“Other than that it’s just been Long Island champions,” said Foraker, whose team went 10-6-2 despite playing in a conference with Class A teams. “I’m going to say this is the third most successful team in program history, which is great. It’s a team of hardworking kids that just never gave up, just a great attitude, great passion for the game.”
In their season-ending defeat, the Frogs played a fairly even first half but Hastings (19-1-1) entered the break with a 3-0 lead. Jackson Silverstein scored in the 30th and 31st minutes after assisting on the Yellow Jackets’ first goal.
“I think that’s pretty deflating,” Foraker said, regarding Silverstein’s two goals.
Browne, who ranked second in Nassau with 16 goals in the regular season, did not have many opportunities to shoot or even create for teammates with Alex Bourgeois fortifying Hastings’ strong defensive effort.
The Yellow Jackets came into the game aiming to shut down Browne.
“You don’t have to see him on film,” Hastings coach Fred Sandhop said. “When you see the numbers, the numbers speak.”
As do the numbers for Carle Place.
“We played well all year but ran into a very difficult team,” Browne said. “We didn’t put our chances away. They put theirs away, but they came out on top. Nothing you can do about it now.”
