“I was just trying to serve it in and then anything can happen,” senior Simon Garno said of his chip on a direct kick from 30-yards out that redirected off a Fairport defender and into the net for what would prove to be the winning goal. That allowed Hilton to avenge their loss in the final to Fairport one year ago and earn their first boys soccer Section V championship since 1987 and just their second overall.
After both teams played a chess match in the first half with few legitimate scoring opportunities, play opened up a bit in the second half. Just seconds after an apparent Hilton goal was called back due to off-sides, Michael Provost was fouled leading to Garno’s goal in the 51st minute.
“I knew the next 21 minutes would be the longest of my life,” Garno said.
The Red Raiders challenged just one minute after the Hilton goal, but a bullet shot sailed high. With the Cadets packing as many as seven players inside the 30, senior goalkeeper Brian Wilkin made a leaping save later in the half on a direct kick and was able to cover the rebound with just seven minutes remaining when another attempt hit the crossbar.
Wilkin saved his best for the final minutes as he dove to his left to knock away a shot ticketed for the lower right side of the net with 2:10 to play.
“We started off this season weak in the back, but with (assistant) coach (Brian) Duffy working with us, we got better as the season went on,” Wilkin said. “Everyone started sacrificing their bodies and we started getting shutouts.”
“Our boys had last year’s game (against Fairport) fresh in their minds and they used it as motivation,” first year head coach Mike Ellicott said. “It wasn’t the prettiest goal, but in the mass of confusion it skipped by their goalkeeper. “Most important is these guys did not concede a single goal in sectionals and Brian made some incredible saves – he dealt with some injuries early this season, but in sectionals he has been something special.”
To reach the final, the Cadets beat Class AA top-seed Webster-Thomas and fourth seed Churchville-Chili 2-0 in the semi-finals. In that game, Jeffrey Hibbard fed Nicholas Simone a pass in the 20th minute. He took one step to his right around the defender and found the back of the net. Hilton padded their lead at 56:55 as Hibbard sent a pass inside the 18 where the ball eventually came to Matthew DeFeo, who had virtually the entire net to shoot at.
“As the eighth seed with a 6-9-1 record, nobody thought of us, but we used it to our advantage,” Garno said. “Our goal all year was to make it this far and there is no better feeling. So much hard work finally paid off and I was so happy running into the stands to celebrate with my classmates.”
