Pearl River Stifles Keio, Advances to Section Soccer Finals

Pearl River often looks to senior Chris Coughlan in big moments, but it was his younger brother Sean Coughlan who came up big with just under 10 minutes remaining in Wednesday's Section 1 Class A boys soccer semifinal game at Pearl River. 

Sean Coughlan headed the ball home off a throw-in by Aidan Noonan for the game's only score in the Pirates' 1-0 victory, which put Pearl River in the championship game 7:30 p.m. Friday against Port Chester at Arlington. 

"Sean got in front of the keeper and ended up being the run we needed," Pearl River Head Coach Damon O'Keefe said. "That's all him. That's a credit to him. 

"Chris is such a presence in there. They focused all their attention on Chris and they let Sean get through and he put it in the back of the net."

"I just got away from my man and tried to head it to the back post," Sean Coughlan said. "I knew where he was going and ran right there. It was great."

The Pirates' defense did the rest. Pearl River played a physical style focused on disrupting Keio's attack in the midfield to negate the Unicorns' speed and skill.

"They really play defense," Keio Head Coach David Martinez said. "They pressured us big time. They did their homework. Whatever we built, they tried to destroy and they did a good job."

"It was really important that we contain them in the midfield," Noonan said. "Once they get their passes going, it's hard to stop."

O'Keefe said he watched Keio play Byram Hills and spoke with people who had seen the Unicorns play to help put a plan together.

"We knew we had to stop their speed," O'Keefe said. "We had to be physical with them. We couldn't dive. We stood our ground and we stayed strong."

He said the team's senior leadership helped make the plan work.

"It's highly difficult, but this is what happens when you have great senior leadership," O'Keefe said. "These guys have done that all year. The whole back line and (goalie) Pat Guerin back there, four are seniors."

He said the Pirates got away from the plan for a stretch during the second half when the Unicorns put on sustained offensive pressure, but the missed the net on a few shots and Pearl River held on defensively.

"We talked about making this a marathon," O'Keefe said. "Marathon winners always have a great start. We had that. The motto here today was to drag them into the late minutes. They don't sub a lot. If we dragged them late, we could get something off a corner or a throw-in and of course, that's what happened."

Keio's Kensuke Hirai and his teammates had been beating the Pirates to the ball on throw-ins all day. Just before Coughlan's goal, O'Keefe sent Tony Ortega to stand with Hirai. 

"I saw a big cluster," Noonan said. "I usually look for his big brother, Chris Coughlan, all the time because he's the man to get. I knew that tall guy (Hirai) would be marking him. I aimed for the goalie and (Sean Coughlan) got on it. 

"It feels great, especially in the semifinals, when you see the ball from my angle. I throw it. I see him hit it and I see the net ripple. It's the greatest feeling."