JFK fights back but loses to United 4-3 in 2OT in district final | News, Sports, Vacancies

Staff photo/Neel Madhavan. JFK’s Nick Ryan (14) tries to avoid a challenge from United’s Caden Pitts (13) during Saturday’s county final.

CANFIELD — Warren Kennedy felt disrespected on his way to the playoffs.

With a 9-9-2 record, the Eagles were ranked 23rd, meaning they had to go through a long and dangerous road to reach the district finals.

But with that chip on his shoulder, JFK struggled – he battled Crestview, Campbell, Bristol and United until the bitter end, as the Eagles’ win was finally cut short Saturday with a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in double overtime and the lead. -seeded Golden Eagles in Division V, Northeast District 1 Championship.

“It’s been a tough stretch,” JFK coach Anthony Ledenko said. “Going into the game, no one thought we would do anything. We had an up and down season and didn’t feel respected going into the playoffs. But being able to take on the No. 1 seed in the region (23rd seed vs. No. 1 seed) and being able to take them to overtime is just a testament to the character of this group.”

United pounced on the Eagles early, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes.

Maddox Andrea got the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard in the third minute after a long ball was misplayed by Kennedy goalkeeper Matt Wagner. United then struck again five minutes later when Jude Andrea burst past the Eagles defense on a counter-attack.

“We definitely needed a punch in the face — a metaphorical punch in the face to get us started,” Ledenko said of the early deficit. “Especially with these seniors, it’s a special group for me. (It was necessary) for them to finally just think, yeah, it’s time to play in the county final.”

If JFK was going to come back, he needed his best players to step up, and they did.

Dom Ryan converted a free kick from 35 yards in the 23rd minute to finally get the Eagles on the board.

However, with an incredibly quick attack capable of scoring in the blink of an eye, United restored the lead to two before the break when Wagner and defender John Kennedy saved for an own goal.

The Eagles were down 3-1 at halftime, but that wasn’t all.

JFK snatched United’s lead again four minutes into the second half when Gio Femia took advantage of a loose ball in the area that had been mishandled by the United goalkeeper and sent it into the back of the net.

At this point, the Eagles regained the momentum and attempted to tie the game.

Nick Ryan finally leveled the score at 3 in the 51st minute, sending an acrobatic shot over the defender and goalkeeper to the far post.

United spent much of the final 20 minutes of regulation in the attacking half of the field as the Golden Eagles pressed for the winner. But after 80 minutes, extra time was needed to determine the winner.

Both teams had plenty of chances in the first extra period, but neither managed to break through.

“Obviously we wanted to win,” Ledenko said. “We tried to climb up, but the wind was at our back. But we just wanted to keep doing what we were doing throughout the game.”

The back-and-forth play continued into the second extra period, but United’s Jase Medure scored the golden goal for the Golden Eagles with three minutes remaining in the final extra period.

The Eagles will finish the season ranked second in the district and graduate eight seniors from this year’s squad.

“We played some big schools this year,” Ledenko said. “We played huge schools for a school our size. We conceded a lot of goals in a lot of games throughout the season, but we (played these teams) specifically to get here. The goal was to play district level teams every game to get ready, and I think we were ready. Sudden death is always difficult, but I’m very proud of the boys.”