What was shaping up to be the greatest season in Poly Prep history finished with all-too-familiar ending, instead of a storybook conclusion.
The top-seeded Blue Devils, which won the school’s first Ivy League divison crown, couldn’t manage to add the final piece of hardware.
Poly Prep’s boys’ soccer team fell 2–0 to No. 2 Hackley in the private school state final on Saturday afternoon at Manhattanville College. It’s Poly’s second straight defeat in the title game, and fourth in the last seven years, after consecutive crowns 2007 and 2008.
“This double is not done very often,” Blue Devils coach Gerry Stone said. “A lot of times the team that comes in as the underdog is hungrier, because we’ve gotten a trophy already.”
Hackley (14–3–1), which lost both regular season meetings to Poly (17–2–1), was certainly the aggressor in the first half. The Blue Devils played without physical senior midfielder Alden von Ziegsar because of minor heart condition, according to Stone. He felt that helped Hackley dominate time of possession and get to the ball first more often. Both Hornets goals came through pure hustle.
James Breen’s 20-yard corner kick, following a yellow card by Poly’s Max Akselrad, was kicked around in the box. Hornets captain Ian Mook got to it and kicked it into the left side of the net to make it 1-0 in the 25th minute. Hackley struck again in the 39th minute off a Breen corner kick. It pinballed around in the box until Adin Rinzler kicked it home to extend the lead to 2–0 at the half.
“We weren’t as composed in the first half,” Poly senior defender Connor Doherty said. “It seemed like we had some falters in the defense and in the midfield.”
That quickly changed after the break.
Poly looked reenergized and pinned the ball in the Hackly end for the first 20 minutes, but could not find the momentum-shifting score. The Blue Devils had numerous free kicks and corners, but never seriously challenged the Hackley keeper.
“If we could have caught a break and caught a little more energy maybe we would have been a little more dangerous,” Stone said.
His team made a comeback tougher when frustrated senior midfielder Levi Stern picked up his second yellow card, which means a red card and an ejection from the game for a dangerous tackle in the 59th minute. Poly played a man down the rest of the way. It still got the better of the play, but not a goal in the final for a second straight year.
Not finishing the job doesn’t overshadow a tremendous season in Poly’s mind. The Blue Devils lost just once in the regular season — one they avenged in the post season and went unbeaten in league play. They beat Ivy rival Horace Mann 2–1 in overtime in the quarterfinals.
“This is probably the best season Poly’s had in decades,” Doherty said. “It’s the best season the Ivy League has seen in a few decades, so it’s definitely a big accomplishment, which we can be proud of.”
