Two Long Island officers hop a fence to join teens' night soccer game and the clip goes viral

A group of Long Island teens figured the night was over when two police officers walked toward their soccer game. Instead the officers hopped the fence and asked for the ball.

A patrol stop turns into a match

Suffolk County officers Daniel Sanchez and Kevin Martinez were on a routine patrol when they spotted the teens playing under the lights at a park in Centereach. Still in uniform and still on duty the two climbed over the fence and challenged the players to go one-on-one.

The players were braced for the opposite. "We were playing at night so we assumed we were going to get kicked off the field," said 17-year-old Andrew Moreno. Sanchez said the surprise was written all over their faces as they looked at each other.

Gear on and still cooking

What followed was a pickup game nobody expected to lose to. Teen Christian Moreno admitted he never thought a cop wearing all that gear could outplay kids who are on the field every day. The clip of the showdown took off online and has pulled in roughly 18 million views.

A rematch request at headquarters

After the video spread the teens and the two officers got together again at Suffolk police headquarters. Commissioner Kevin Catalina honored Sanchez and Martinez and said community moments like this matter as much as any other part of police work. The players also got a tour of the building.

They had one more ask. Martinez played soccer in college and the teens want another crack at him. "I want to do it again," Jonathan Maldonado said. He added that this time he plans not to get embarrassed.

For one player the night meant even more. Loc Nguyen said the game made him want to become a police officer himself.

Somewhere in Centereach a rematch is waiting. The scoreboard is still up for debate but the smiles already won.