Twice the Brockport boys’ varsity soccer team fell behind and twice came back to tie the game, but the third seeded Blue Devils lost to second-seed Greece Athena in the Class A1 Section V semi-finals held in Spencerport.
After the Trojans opened with a goal in the first ten minutes of the contest, Brockport returned serve and tied the contest in the 14th minute. Senior Simeon Horton raced down the left wing on a three-on-one break before crossing the ball to the far side of the box where classmate Alex Reber redirected it in for his sixth goal of the season.
The Trojans retook a one-goal lead at 26:52 as Antonio LaGamba banged in the rebound from a Ryan Lindeman shot.
But, almost exactly ten minutes later, the Blue Devils again tied the contest on a sideline throw-in deep in the offensive zone. A scramble in front of the Athena goal had junior Ben Leach finding Zachary Langelotti to his right for his team-leading eighth goal of the campaign to make it 2-2 at halftime.
Athena netted what would prove to be the game-winner in the 59th minute as freshman Othman Belseine kicked a ball from 20 yards out off the left post and into the net for a 3-2 Trojan lead.
Just one minute later Brockport threatened twice with a direct kick from just above the box being knocked aside by Athena goalkeeper Thomas Stathopalous and a cross from the left side redirected just wide.
In the final minute of regulation another direct kick from the left side of the box was tipped just wide to end the Blue Devils season.
“We came to life in the second half after we stepped back a bit and let them take it to us in the first half,” Brockport head coach Chris Zorn said. “We came in as the underdog and you hope to get a few breaks, but things just weren’t falling into place. We kept the game tight, but they were the better possession team.”
“We will miss a large group of seniors, especially in the middle, the back and our keeper. It’s the normal cycle of high school sports, so you hope some of the younger guys step up next year and fill their shoes – we’ll see.”
Fourteen seniors played their final varsity soccer games including Reber, Horton, Brenna Eldridge, Derek Bradshaw, Sebastian King, Jake Bonisteel, Nolan Maines, Cameron Dony, Eric Wiest, Walden Grady, Sage Newell, Anthony Volpe, Joe McNulty and Jeremy Robinson.
