Ryan Leary's long throw-in helps Carle Place boys soccer claim Nassau Class B crown

The Nassau Class B boys soccer championship was won by the arms of Ryan Leary.

Yes, you read that correctly. A soccer championship decided by throwing arms.

Carle Place's Leary fired a throw-in from the 20-yard line all the way to the front of the net. Following a scrum in front of the goal, the throw hit off the head of a Locust Valley defender and in to break a scoreless tie with 5:25 left in the second overtime period, giving No. 4 Carle Place a 1-0 victory over No. 2 Locust Valley in the Nassau Class B boys soccer final at Plainedge High School Thursday evening.

“I don’t know how he does it,” goalkeeper John Hoisik said. “It’s kind of insane.”

And actually, Leary can credit his athletic sisters for his throw-in ability. Leary said his older sisters, who were standout athletes at Carle Place themselves, had the ability to make long throw-ins. He watched them, along with YouTube videos, and began to master the art of the long toss.

“Obviously it’s a bit absurd,” Leary said. “I’ve seen my sisters do it all the time, so I just throw it. I watched some clips, I watched my family. My whole family can do it. I jump back and just twist and throw it.”

The throw catapulted Carle Place into the Long Island Class B championship in a Southeast Regional semifinal. Carle Place (9-7-1) plays the winner of Center Moriches/Babylon at Diamond in the Pines Tuesday at 2 p.m. Locust Valley finishes 11-3-1.

“Ryan’s throw is dangerous,” coach Conor Reardon said. “It’s something that’s a weapon and when you don’t let them score, sometimes that weapon’s going to be a big factor and it was today.”

Much of that inability to score can be credited to Hoisik. The goalkeeper had 12 saves and faced consistent pressure from Locust Valley but kept making save after save.

“This just shows you can’t count us out even though we’re the four seed,” Hoisik said. “We’re the youngest team here. We carry a bunch of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, we’re going to be good in a couple of years, too.”

Carle Place lost to Locust Valley in both regular season matchups by a combined score of 7-1. But the Frogs weren’t concerned about that.

“It’s October,” Hoisik said. “We’re a different team now and we put that mindset into our head.”

The Frogs celebrated their fourth straight Nassau Class B title. Carle Place dropped to Class C last season due to enrollment and Locust Valley won the Nassau B title last fall – giving Thursday a ‘champion vs. champion’ feel to it.

“They are a really good team,” Reardon said. “They are the defending Class B champions and it’s unique because we were both defending champions. We didn’t get to defend it last year and they won it, but that’s a really good team that’s really dangerous.”

Carle Place had to knock off No. 1 Cold Spring Harbor in the semifinals followed by the No. 2 seed to win the county title.

“It was crazy,” Leary said. “The four seed beating the two seed. Everyone counted us out but you can’t count us out. We’re a really good team.”

And now Carle Place is one win away from a Long Island title. Whether that comes due to a kick or an arm.

“Hey, it doesn’t matter how it gets in the back of the net,” Hoisik said. “As long as it gets there.”