Floral Park boys soccer put the 'fun' in fundamentals en route to winning state title

“Why not us?”

Floral Park coach Ahkeel Rodney tossed those three words in the air as he walked off the field at Farmingdale State after the Knights won their first Long Island title. Nine days later, Floral Park defeated Schalmont 2-0, in the Class A final to become state champions.

But the Knights didn’t ride upstate on a whim. This road began as a childhood dream when seniors like Ned Devine were in eighth grade back when Rodney first joined the program.

“It makes it 10 times better being able to win with your friends,” Devine said. “That’s all any of us wanted to do, we always talked about winning the Nassau championship when we were in eighth and ninth grade.”

Rodney saw progress in 2022 when the No. 12 Knights upset No. 5 South Side in penalty kicks. The Knights took the next step in 2023 as the No. 1 seed before losing in the county semifinals.

“The biggest thing is creating a space where it’s OK to fail, where it’s OK to make mistakes,” Rodney said. “It’s also somewhere that you’re going to be pushed and held to the high standard we’re striving for.”

Junior Sam Ammirati saw that philosophy tested after a tough 2-1 loss to Mineola in Floral Park’s final regular season game. Rodney approached him, promising the team would win “something.”

After defeating Schalmont, Rodney walked up to Ammirati again.

“He said, ‘Our promise was fulfilled,’ ” Ammirati said.

Relationships set apart 11 starters from one team. Senior Michael Donovan lifted titles and scored game-winning goals, but he said the team’s “goofiness” from teammates like Daniel Jawad and Conor McCarthy is what he’ll miss the most.

“Just talking after practice, cracking jokes, it was a fun team,” Donovan said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

“That’s why we’re able to play at such a fast pace,” Rodney said. “They know exactly what to do, they know where to be and they know they’re fighting for something bigger than themselves.”

That includes Floral Park itself, with Ammirati describing it as a “hardworking town.” The love was clear, whether it came from shirtless fans donning red paint at the county final or the town hosting a parade for the team after it won the state title.

“Seeing the support lined up on Tulip Avenue when we were coming to midtown, it was really special to see familiar faces celebrate us as a team,” Ammirati said.

Floral Park will graduate eight starters in Devine, Donovan, Jawad, McCarthy, Diego Bueno, Michael Chery, Aidan Conlon and Oscar Dalton. But this senior class smoothed the concrete Rodney poured to create the road to a state title, building a foundation for players like Ammirati and fellow junior Brady Croon to reach the next mile marker.

“I loved each and every single moment with all of [the seniors],” Croon said. “They never shy down from competition. They’re the main reason why we won.”

Rodney preaches “hard work is undefeated.” Now Floral Park has a state title to show for it.

“Now, with us crossing the line with states,” Rodney said, “that message is going to be even stronger.”