For 99 minutes, the Floral Park and Amityville boys’ soccer teams battled to every loose ball, hustled all over the field and gave the capacity crowd at SUNY Farmingdale a classic, captivating, elimination game that would send one team to its first ever State Final Four.

Unfortunately for the Knights, their season ended in heartbreaking fashion as Amityville freshman Rolman Guardado was able to find the net in the second overtime, giving the Suffolk County Champs a 1-0 victory over Floral Park.

The game was a thoroughly entertaining contest between two incredibly even-matched and well-coached teams. The high level of skill was only outmatched by the heart and determination displayed by each team. As cliched as it may sound, it truly is a shame that one team had to lose.

In the immediate future, Floral Park will feel the sadness and disappointment of such a difficult loss. But in time, each member of this team will be able to cherish the historic nature of this season. The accomplishments of this team along with the impact it will have on the program will never be forgotten by those who were fortunate enough to follow the magical postseason run.

When the season started, who would have thought that Floral Park would finish the season as one of the eight best Class A teams in New York State? But that is exactly what the Knights earned with this postseason performance.

In addition, there will be so many fond memories.

The opening-round victory over Friends Academy while playing a man down.
The overtime goal by Brendan Fogarty to defeat an extremely talented Glen Cove team.
The astonishing comeback victory over Carey, trailing by two goals at the half.
The hat trick by Jonathan Ferone in the county final victory over Jericho.
The stellar goalkeeping of Michael Baldini, earning the roar of the crowd after every clutch save.
The inspirational return of Kyle Darden, who sat out last season due to medical reasons.
The hundreds and hundreds of fans in attendance – parents, students, graduates, faculty and members of the Floral Park community – cheering on the team during every minute of every game.
And all of the elementary school soccer players from the Floral Park youth program, who will dream of one day having the same experience as the 2015 Floral Park team.

Brendan Fogarty, Brian Hamerman, Connor Sullivan, Daniel Schaeffer, Harry Fingelton, Jack Dixon, Jhonny Rivera-Cruz, Jonathan Ferone, Jose Caro, Kyle Darden, Logan Buckley, Lorenzo Arrindell, Luke deArmas, Matthew Cal, Michael Baldini, Nick DiRico, Nick Neubert, Richard Ventura, RJ LaScala, Ryan Hayden, Ryan O’Hare, and Savion Ponce are the names of the players who will go down in history as the best boys’ soccer team in Floral Park history. Congratulations and thanks for giving the Floral Park Memorial school community a team to be proud of.