By PAUL GOTHAM
Credit Will Graupman with good timing.
Pittsford Sutherland’s senior defender connected on his first career varsity goal in what would be the eventual game winner, and the Knights went on to beat the Wayne Eagles, 2-0 in Class A2 semi-final action Tuesday night at Penfield High School.
Graupman redirected a John Mozrall corner kick from the right flag to snap a scoreless tie in the second half.
“We just made hard runs,” Graupman explained. “There were guys going to the near post and the back post. I crept in the back post and no one was guarding me so I just headed it in.”
The tally was also a first of sorts for the Sutherland squad.
“We haven’t scored on a header off a cross yet this season,” Sutherland coach Sean Hopkins noted. “For him to do that in this game was great. We never score off corner kicks.”
The shutout was the second straight for Sutherland and fifth overall this season. One year after giving up 33 goals and being eliminated in the quarter-finals, the Knights have trimmed their goals against to 23 as they head into Friday’s final.
“Our defense has come to play,” Hopkins said mentioning the efforts of Graupman, Ryan Morabito, Jonah Pierce, Jake Petrone and goalkeeper Alex Oleyyourryk. “They’ve just been so tight marked and winning 50/50 balls which we weren’t doing. They basically said we’re not giving up goals like we did last year. They’ve really stepped up for us.”
Mozrall followed Graupman less than three minutes later with an insurance goal – his team-leading 14th marker of the season.
“He’s taken it on himself that he’s going to score and he’s going to put people in position to score,” Hopkins said of his senior midfielder. “We talk about it all the time how we’re going to miss him so much. He just does the right things on the field. He never gets down on his teammates, always keeps pumping them up. He always works. He’s got that motor.”
Wayne had its chances in the first half.
Matt Gentile’s direct kick from 35 yards out fooled Oleyyourryk, and the senior keeper was forced to make a diving save in which he struggled to corral the rebound. The Eagles James Flannery was there in the goal mouth for a point blank blast that Oleyyourryk turned away.
“He has been unbelievable,” Hopkins said of his keeper. “He has single-handedly kept us in a few games this year.”
With the win Sutherland moves on to meet three-time champion Honeoye Falls-Lima in Friday’s final. HF-L defeated Sutherland (10-7-1) earlier in the season 3-2. Sutherland fell to HF-L in the 2015 final, 2-1.
“It wouldn’t be a sectional if we didn’t play HF-L,” Graupman said. “That’s who I want to beat. We lost to them two years ago when I was a sophomore in overtime. They’re who we have to beat.”
The Cougars (16-2-0), ranked No. 12 in the most recent NYS Class A poll, needed overtime to beat Aquinas, 1-0 in the earlier semi-final.
Sutherland last won a sectional title in 2007 when the Knights beat Aquinas for the Class A crown.
“It always feels good to get a chance to play for a ‘block,'” Hopkins said referring to the sectional trophy.
A 7:30 p.m. kickoff is scheduled Friday at Hilton High School’s LeBeau Field.
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