There has been a difference in Oliver Williams for this Garden City boys soccer season. He’s bigger and he’s better.
“So having him from last year to this year, you can see he’s put on about 30 to 40 pounds,” assistant coach Luke Connolly said. “And this year, he looks like he’s a man amongst boys, bullying it, doing everything we need. But the best thing that we’ve seen out of him all year is just his hard work.”
The senior striker was out there on Farmingdale State’s turf Saturday night, and his hard work helped bring another championship plaque for the Trojans.
Williams scored three goals in the second half, giving him 18 for the season. And top-seeded Garden City repeated as the Nassau Class AA champion with a 4-1 win over second-seeded Calhoun.
“I mean, it’s awesome,” Williams said. “Senior year, getting three goals, it’s literally the dream. I’m very proud we did it. I couldn’t have done it without my team.”
His team is 17-2. The defending state Class AA champion Trojans will face either Northport or Deer Park for the Long Island Class AA title at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Islip High School. That will also be a Southeast Regional final and have a ticket to the ‘AA’ final four at stake.
“We have so much to prove again,” said Jack Klein, a senior left wing who contributed a goal and an assist. “It’s hard defending another state championship, but we’re a hundred percent up for it, and yeah, that’s the main goal right now, repeat again.”
Calhoun, meanwhile, didn’t suffer its first loss until its final game. The Colts finished at 16-1-1.
“Phenomenal,” coach Chris Vogel said. “I’m going to miss all these kids. It’s a heavy senior group. Win or loss, I would’ve ran it back with this group continuously. I think they’re a phenomenal group of boys. And the loss won’t define us.”
Klein scored off his own steal for the only goal of the first half.
After halftime, Williams delivered from the left side of the box, then made it 3-0 by dribbling through the middle and hitting the net.
Lucas Nangle scored on a penalty kick for Calhoun with 5:31 left before Klein fed Williams for No. 3 with 1:12 remaining.
“I think we were battle-tested all year,” Trojans assistant coach Sean Brady said. “We played an unbelievable non-league schedule that really prepared us for big games.”
Brian Heyman covers high school, college and pro sports. He joined Newsday in 2021 and previously worked as a sportswriter for The Journal News in White Plains and The Hudson Dispatch in Union City, New Jersey. His work has appeared in The New York Times, MLB.com and Baseball Digest magazine.
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