Lawrence boys soccer rallies with three unanswered goals to beat Friends Academy in Nassau Class A quarterfinal

The field where the Lawrence boys soccer team plays is quite close John F. Kennedy International Airport and from the pitch one constantly sees planes taking off. On Thursday it seemed an appropriate place for the Golden Tornadoes to be facing off against Friends Academy because when they took flight it was something to see.

Lawrence played the aggressor for most of the afternoon and rallied from a two-goal deficit with three unanswered goals to post a 3-2 win in a Nassau Class A quarterfinal.

“Believe it or not, that’s what we do,” Lawrence coach Gerard Legasse said. “We trailed Plainedge by two and won 4-2. And last season we came back from being down against Floral Park in a playoff game. They have this quality where they are comfortable even when trailing. They never panic.”

Brandon Moran-Flores put in the winner with 13:15 remaining on a stunning play. Jeremy Cruz was on the left side of the goal and put a high bouncing pass across the goalmouth. By the time it reached Moran-Flores, the window to redirect it into the goal was nearly closed. He leapt high and put his left heel on the ball, sending it into the net.

“The pass was there,” Moran-Flores said. “When I see a ball, I go for it.”

Fourth-seeded Lawrence (12-3-2) advances to play in a county semifinal against top-seeded Mineola (14-1) on Oct. 30 at Mitchell Athletic Complex. Lawrence had never played in a county title match and lost 3-0 to the Mustangs, who went on the win the Long Island Class A title.

“Last year was a big lesson for us,” Moran-Flores said. “We’re going to be going after it much harder this time.”

Added Cruz, “We just want to win. We want to win everything.”

Friends midfielder Dylan Leon scored on a penalty kick with 15:21 left in the first half to break a scoreless tie. On a vintage counterpunch, speedy Owen Gordon got out on a breakaway and beat goaltender Gabriel Rosales to his right to give the Quakers (8-4-1) a 2-0 lead.

Soon after that the Golden Tornadoes must have contacted the JFK tower to get cleared for takeoff.

Benjamin Perez scored on a penalty kick with 20 seconds left in the first and the comeback was on. About 11 minutes into the second half, Lawrence’s Kevin Mendoza spotted Jorge Ortega for the tying goal.

Moran-Flores’ goal set of a wild celebration.

Rosales had four saves for Lawrence.

“They don’t do this intentionally, but they seem to like the adversity,” Legasse said. “There is something inside of them that never lets up through the entire game. Our players never give in. They get after it for the full 80 minutes.”

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.