2 Days and 19 Zeros Later . . . a 1 Finally Ends Marathon : Kennedy Beats Jefferson in 18th Overtime of Soccer Semifinal

If Greg Friedman thought he would get a break for scoring the goal to end one of the longest games in City high school soccer history, his coach, Fred Singer, had some news for him.

“You’re not getting away,” Singer said as he directed Friedman away from reporters. The junior halfback had to help his Kennedy High School teammates take down the goal posts and nets for the night.

About 15 minutes earlier, Friedman had ended Jefferson High’s season, scoring 3:44 into the 18th overtime to give the Golden Cougars a 1-0 victory in a playoff semifinal that started Monday and ended Tuesday at Kennedy.

The teams played 130 minutes of scoreless soccer Monday--covering two 40-minute regulation halves, two five-minute overtime periods and eight five-minute, sudden-death overtimes. At 5:20 p.m., referee Armando Tatis finally called the game because of darkness.

Kennedy (14-1-4) plays Garfield High for the championship Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Polytechnic High in Sun Valley. Jefferson, which won the title last season, finished at 9-2-2 this season.

Neither team had many scoring chances in the first six overtimes Tuesday. Singer later said it appeared the game “would never end.”

In the game’s 17th overtime, Friedman missed a header into a wide-open net. The shot sailed high over the crossbar and left Singer shaking his head.

“I really felt that was it,” Singer said. “In a situation like this, you only get so many opportunities. You can’t continue to get breaks.”

But the Cougars got another chance in the 18th overtime when Chris Olson kicked a crossing pass through the crease.

Friedman took the pass about six feet to the right of the goal and fired, bringing the game to an end after 168 minutes and 44 seconds.

According to officials, the game was one of the longest in City history. In the opening round of this year’s playoffs, El Camino Real High defeated North Hollywood High in 12 overtimes.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Friedman, who was the place-kicker on Kennedy’s football team last season. “We felt we were in better shape than they were. We pressured them a lot more.”

Jefferson controlled the action on Monday, but could not generate any offense Tuesday. “That’s what happens,” Jefferson Coach William Hernandez said. “We just didn’t execute.”

Jefferson played most of the overtime periods with 10 players after one player was ejected from the game.

“The officiating was very one-sided Monday,” Hernandez said. “I felt it was very questionable.”

But Hernandez has no doubts about who will win the final. “The two strongest teams in the City are Jefferson and Kennedy,” he said. “Kennedy should beat Garfield.”

Singer isn’t making any predictions. He’s just happy his young team--which has just four seniors--has made it this far.

“Jefferson threw everything at us but the kitchen sink,” said Singer, who directed Kennedy to the City title three years ago. “I told the team to hang on.”

When Kennedy won the championship in 1981, it defeated Jefferson, 3-2. That game went seven overtimes.

“This team is not as big and physically strong as the championship team,” Singer said. “But it’s more advanced skill-wise.”

A win on Thursday will make the two teams even, championship-wise.