By PAUL GOTHAM
Nico Coria registered his sixth shutout of the season, and Parker Hotchkiss netted his team-leading ninth goal as the Honeoye Falls-Lima Cougars downed the Greece Olympia Spartans, 2-0 in Monroe County Division IV action, Thursday.
Hotchkiss one-timed a Justin Hofmann cross in the seventh minute for the eventual game winner.
“I just had to finish his work,” Hotchkiss said of his teammate. “He set me up.”
Hofmann beat a pair of Olympia defenders along the left wing before getting into the 18-yard box and using a flick with his right foot to find Hotchkiss at point blank range.
“Justin did well; he beat a couple guys,” Hotchkiss said. “He’s good at dribbling along the left side.”
But the Cougars did not find the back of the net until the match’s closing moments.
The clean sheet was the fifth in the last six games for Coria and the Cougars.
“We struggled a little bit this game to find our rhythm,” Coria said. “We obviously got out with the shutout and that’s the goal.”
The win was the second this season for HF-L (10-2-0/6-0-0) over their division foe. The Cougars triumphed by a similar 2-0 score on September 5th.
“Second time you play a team they strategize against you,” Coria explained. “We had trouble going down the middle. We had to get it wide, and we just didn’t execute today.”
David Goetz set up Hank Lehning with an insurance goal in the 75th minute. The senior got to the end line on the side of the goal and fed Lehning for the redirect.
Coria recored 13 shutouts a year ago as a junior when HF-L won its third straight Class A2 title. The Cougars have four regular season games remaining to prepare for a chance to add to that string.
“It’s our last chance as a senior group to make our mark on the school,” Coria said. “We want it to be something special.”
HF-L hosts Greece Odyssey, Wednesday in another Division IV matchup.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Olympia (6-5-1/2-4-0). The Spartans had shut out their four previous opponents. Olympia plays at Eastridge on Wednesday.
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