It has been 18 years since the Byron-Bergen girls soccer team last won a Section V championship and Spencerport was trying to extend their streak of five consecutive titles to six. And the Hilton boys were hunting for their third championship over the past seven seasons.
BYRON-BERGEN
Bees’ sophomore Mackenzie Hagen netted a hat trick and eighth-grader Mia Gray and sophomore Emma Starowicz each had one goal and one assist to lead Byron-Bergen to a relatively easy 5-1 victory over Harley-Allendale Columbia in the Class C2 final played at Caledonia-Mumford’s Hamilton Field.
“It’s insanely good, because last year (losing in the finals to Geneseo 2-1) was so tough losing; it was my first year on varsity so it was really sad,” Hagen said.
Starowicz got the Bees off to a strong start, converting a perfect through-ball by Gray putting her in all alone. Gray then capitalized on a steal, putting the Bees ahead 2-0.
But H-A-C scored off a free kick to cut the lead to one goal – a moment that seemed to energize Byron-Bergen.
“We always come back harder because we know that we need to pick it up or they’re going to come back and score another goal,” Hagen said.
They did just that just 25 seconds later on Hagen’s first and extended the lead to 4-1 less than three minutes later as Hagen converted a cross from Starowicz. Hagen completed her hat trick ten minutes into the second half.
The win marked the fifth Section V championship in program history for the Bees and their first since 2002. They were ranked 15th in New York State among Class C schools prior to the title game.
SPENCERPORT
16-0-1 entering the Class A1 championship game having allowed only four goals all season, the top-seeded Rangers were confident in their match with second-seed Brighton in trying for their sixth consecutive crown.
And it appeared it would be easy as sophomore Aleena Solano chipped the ball over the Brighton goalkeeper and into the net after a pass from senior co-captain Lily Brongo just 3:49 into the game.
But then Brighton tied it 1-1 four minutes later.
The Rangers scored in the 12th and 21st minutes on goals by senior co-captain Alyssa Hackett and Solano both assisted by Brongo, but the Bruins scored off a corner kick deflection with ten minutes remaining in the first half to again cut the lead to 3-2.
The Rangers regrouped at halftime and largely shut down the Bruins while adding tallies from Hackett, who converted a far post feed from sophomore Kendall Mesh, and senior co-captain Bre DeHond, who headed in Brongo’s pass from the corner to make the final 5-2.
“At the end of the first half we all regrouped and we came together and said we are not losing,” Hackett said. “We need to put everything on the field; we are not done today and everybody just came together.
“Everyone has to buy in that they want to be part of something really big and it takes a lot of work and everyone accepting their roles, but you can never take it for granted,” Spencerport head coach Jamie Schneider said. The win marked the 200th of his coaching career.
“Six feels great because it is always a new group and it’s fun to see the new players experience this and hopefully run with it again, so it never gets old.”
HILTON
16-1-1 Hilton stared at the team that handed them their only loss of the season and didn’t blink in a 2-0 victory over Fairport in the Class AA boys soccer title game.
Fittingly, seniors led the way with Cody Cavuoto netting both goals – the first on a through-pass from senior Jonathan Resnick and the second a rebound after senior Anthony Inglese’s shot off the Fairport goalkeeper.
“It’s got to be one of the best feelings of my entire life,” Inglese said. “We won my freshman year when I was pulled up, but it really didn’t feel like mine. Everyone played their hearts out and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Inglese spent most of the second half in the defensive zone just above the box, thwarting several Fairport scoring opportunities. “That’s (the shutout) the perfect icing on the cake. First thing we talked about at halftime was that this wasn’t the first time Fairport has been in this position (down two goals), so we wanted to stay focused, lock down the defense and that’s exactly what happened.”
Junior Ben Cronk was credited with seven saves in picking up the shutout.
“It feels fantastic…couldn’t be happier doing it with the 12 seniors and the rest of the team,” Resnick said. “We wanted to play the perfect game and we played the perfect game in the sectional final; couldn’t ask for anything better.”
The championship is Hilton’s fourth overall with previous titles in 1987, 2015, and 2018.
Cadets head coach Mike Ellicott was named Class AA Coach of the Year.
KENDALL
A sixth-seed in Class C2, the Eagles earned an unlikely trip to the final with wins over Perry (7-1), Harley-Allendale Columbia (3-1), and Bradford/Dundee (1-0) before losing the final to top-seed Keshequa 4-0.
The Eagles fell behind in the final 2-0 just nine minutes into the contest before finding their footing and playing the defending champion pretty evenly the rest of the way.
“I think it’s the first time since 2003 that the Kendall boys reached the sectional finals; we took out the number three seed and took out the number two seed, but this (Keshequa) is one heck of a powerful team,” Kendall head coach Rich Esposito said.
Senior Michael McCue led the Eagles in goals and assists with sophomore Louis Conte also in double-digits with 11 goals. Senior goalkeeper Jorden Ostrander played every minute in net. Jeffrey Pratt, Josh Smith, Shane Stock, and Ethan Woodhams also wrapped up their high school soccer careers with a trip to the finals.
CHURCHVILLE-CHILI
The Saints boys entered the Class A Section V final having won the first three rounds via shutout – 4-0 over Eastridge, 1-0 versus Irondequoit and 1-0 against Greece Arcadia. And they entered their fourth final in the last nine years matched up with Pittsford-Sutherland, a team they played to a 0-0 draw in the regular season.
Regulation in the title game also was scoreless before Sutherland scored 3:50 into the first overtime session to end the Saints season.
“Either team deserved to win this and I don’t think either team deserved to lose,” Churchville-Chili head coach John Mahoney said. “We played excellent soccer tonight; both teams attacked, both teams had great goalkeeping, great defending, and we both had chances to win in regulation. But that’s soccer; it’s a beautiful and cruel sport.”
Senior Gaven Egan led the squad in scoring (nine goals) with classmate Nick Rippe tops with 18 assists. Mac Bean, Cameron Burke, Collin Curley, Holden Hewett, Hayden Laing, Brett Seaman, and starting goalkeeper Jaden Tensley were the other seniors wrapping up their high school soccer tenure.
