After more than one year of construction, the Churchville-Chili school district officially cut the ribbon on the new turf field at the stadium in ceremonies September 4 as part of a soccer doubleheader.
“We are here today because you, our voters, approved this turf field and new track in our Phase 5 Capital Improvement project in December of 2016,” school board president Dr. Cheryl Repass said during the ceremony.
“We are thrilled to be able to share it with our community. This stadium is just one example of many that show how supportive the community is of our district goal to provide quality facilities that are well-maintained, as well as our mission to help all students strive for excellence while developing their unique talents.”
As part of the project, a new pool and athletic entrance at the high school are also being constructed with completion expected by the summer of 2020.
“What a great resource to have for our student athletes here in Western New York, where snow and rain never make it easy to get out on a field and play,” school superintendent Lori Orologio said.
In the second half of the soccer doubleheader, Churchville-Chili spotted visiting Spencerport a 1-0 first half lead before exploding for three goals within an eight-minute span over the first 40 minutes and tacking on five second half goals in an 8-1 victory.
The Rangers jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:31 when senior co-captain Justin Hockenberger rushed the net and shot, got his own rebound which was saved again before senior Ivan Valadozka knocked it in.
The Saints tied the game at 18:24 as senior Dylan Rippe ran down the right wing and centered to sophomore Mario Cozzo, who rifled his shot off the left goalpost and in.
Just 19 seconds later, Gabe Correia dribbled to within 30 yards and was left open by the defense. He netted his first varsity goal to give the Saints a 2-1 lead, which would prove to be the game-winner.
Senior Colby Egan created the third Saints goal in the 26th minute with a long lead pass to Rippe, who outraced the defender and scored to make it 3-1 at the half.
It was all-Saints in the second half as Rippe raced down the right wing on a three-on-one break and crossed to Egan for the tap-in in the 48th minute.
“My legs were a little bit tired, so I was just trying to keep running and my teammate, Dylan Rippe, made a great run, beat two guys and played a great cross that I just had to tap away,” Egan said.
Cozzo netted his second 88 seconds later to make it 5-1 with a shot from the left wing about 20-yards out that glanced off the goalkeeper’s hand and into the net.
Egan scored unassisted in the 56th minute before senior Vinnie Mathias scored his varsity goal less than one minute later and senior Dylan Pfendler netted his first varsity goal on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute after being taken down in the box.
“We just had to not get down as a team; we had to keep the intensity up and I thought we did a really good job of bouncing back and playing hard even though we went down,” Egan said.
“As a team, we really excel at the counter attack playing it big and quick and getting up, it’s a major tactic for us.
“It’s a really big deal for us (winning their first home game on the new turf). We wanted to come out and make a statement of how we’re going to play this year and I’m really happy with the result.”
Egan finished with two goals and one assist, Rippe also had a three-point effort with one goal, and two assists while Cozzo netted two goals in the win.
