Alex Kudrick's long shot gives Connetquot win over Northport in boys soccer
Alexander Kudrick of Connetquot readies a shot during a Suffolk boys soccer game against host Northport on Wednesday. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Alex Kudrick unleashed a hard shot from just beyond the right side of the box, and that soccer ball sailed about 25 yards into the top left corner of the goal. The keeper didn’t have a chance.
So was Kudrick impressed with his work?
“Yes, I was,” he said.
He sure should’ve been impressed. It was a brilliant-looking goal and it was the game-winning goal.
Kudrick broke a tie with 14:22 left in the second half. His shot gave Connetquot a 2-1 win Wednesday at Northport.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” Kudrick said. “It’s all I ever want is I just want to win games, score goals. That’s really it.”
The senior forward already owns five goals and Connetquot is indeed winning games.
“I think we can go very far,” Kudrick said. “I’m thinking we can win counties [in AAA], win [an] LI championship.”
They’re up to 5-1 overall and their Suffolk III mark is up to 4-1 since this was a mandatory crossover match that counted toward their league record.
“We’re just trying to get the boys to play together and play hard,” Connetquot coach John Zambriski said.
Coach Don Strasser got his Northport boys to do that after a lackluster first half that ended with Connetquot up 1-0.
“We didn’t play hard,” Strasser said. "But I think at halftime, we were able to regroup and lit the fire under them, and they came out really like horses.”
The Tigers (3-2-1, 2-2-1 in Suffolk IV), who have dropped two straight, threatened in the first minute of that second half.
Dean Burchard went down to the turf to make one of his nine saves, stopping Jace DiPalo’s try for the tying goal.
“He gives us the stability,” Zambriski said of Burchard.
But Owen Locano finally tied it on a penalty kick with 22:16 remaining.
Then Kudrick untied it against goalkeeper Dylan Naughton, who played the second half after replacing Aidan Kelly. David Sanchez’s shot was blocked by a defender. The ball deflected off Sanchez before Kudrick collected it and delivered.
“That was a great shot,” Zambriski said. “The kid has got a knack to score.”
Sanchez also got an assist on the first goal with a corner kick. Garfield Gillespie headed the ball past Kelly.
“We started off [the season] hot,” Strasser said. “We were really jelling. And then you take back-to-back losses and all of a sudden, it’s a fight.”