Senior Samantha Ariloa assisted on the first two goals to lead Churchville-Chili to a 3-1 victory over Irondequoit in girl’s soccer.
With the Eagles holding the ball through the opening minute, Ariloa gained possession at midfield and fed a lead pass to sophomore Jade Distant down the right wing. She outraced the defense and struck a shot that hit the left post and deflected in for a 1-0 Saints lead just 1:13 into the contest.
In the 19th minute, the Saints were awarded a direct kick in the offensive zone. Ariloa tapped a pass left to classmate Lily Cullen who found the upper left corner of the net for the goal.
The Saints extended their lead to 3-0 in the final minute of the first half as sophomore Breanna Giacolone took the ball in the right side of the box off an innocent throw-in and chipped a ball over the defense and goalkeeper and into the net at 39:38.
“It’s coming along; they’re trusting each other,” Saints head coach Mimi Rague said. “We told them to win the 50-50 balls and they stepped up and did that.”
Irondequoit broke up the shutout bid in the 51st minute when the defense dropped off a bit, but they reversed that trend the rest of the contest to preserve the win.
Senior Skylar Burgess started the game in goal for Churchville-Chili and made seven saves with Gabby D’Ambrosio entering at halftime and being credited with four saves.
The Saints entered their final week-and-a-half of the regular season fighting for an eighth seed or higher for the Section V playoffs, which would give them a first round home game.
