Fairport scored the game-winning goal in the 56th minute and defeated Hilton 2-1 in the boys soccer Class AA Section V finals.
The second-seeded Cadets reached the finals by defeating Victor in overtime 4-3 and Webster-Thomas 1-0. They were making their first finals appearance and trying to win their first Section V crown since 1987.
After both teams played conservative for the first 15 minutes, Hilton junior goalkeeper Brian Wilkin kept his team with a series of diving saves. The first came in the 16th minute as he tipped an attempt up in the air to himself on a point-blank try.
He made another sprawling save in the 23rd minute off a direct kick from 20-yards out knocking it away from the left post, but the rebound found the back of the net to give the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead.
In the 32nd minute, Cadets junior tri-captain Brett Healy had his strike from a 30-yard direct kick that was ticketed for the upper left corner knocked away at the last second by the Fairport keeper.
The Cadets later tied the game 1-1 just a few minutes before halftime as Anthony DeFeo connected after a pass from Lukas Krause at the 27:36 mark.
A long free kick from Fairport’s Anthony Gaglianese was headed into the net by Pete Critchlow at 56:07 was the go-ahead goal and the Red Raiders were able to hang on to win the title.
“It’s been a long time – I graduated from high school in ’87,” Hilton head coach Kendrick Krause said after the game. “We’ve been working hard for a long time, coaching the players in the offseason and effort all year long and they battled one of the best teams in New York State; it was a tough game.
“This is my fourth year (as head coach) and we went 3-13, 3-13 to 6-10 last year to 14-5 this year and the section finals. The guys started to believe and they understand what it takes now to reach the finals and we’re changing the culture now, I think, in Hilton and I hope we’re back here next year.”
