By PAUL GOTHAM
HILTON, N.Y. — Andrew Cavuoto wants the starting goalkeeper position.
After Wednesday night, the Hilton High School junior might think differently about that pursuit.
Cavuoto nodded home a second-chance opportunity for the game winner as the Cadets (3-0-0/2-0-0) edged the Webster Schroeder Warriors (3-1-0/1-1-0) in Monroe County Division I action at LeBeau Field.
“It’s huge,” Cavuoto said of the win. “They were coming in undefeated, and we’re coming in undefeated. We knew whoever was going to win this was going to be at the top of the division, so we knew it was going to be a big game.”
Charles Barker started the decisive play with a corner kick from the right flag. Teammate Justin Arilotta made the initial contact, but his header caromed off the cross bar. Cavuoto was there to convert.
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“I started at the top of the 18 and just crashed the net hoping it would come back to me,” Cavuoto explained. “Sure enough, there it was. I just finished it.”
“You couldn’t find a scrappier guy to score that goal,” fourth-year Cadet coach Mike Ellicott said. “At the 15-minute mark he needed to come in and give us a little boost, and he did more than that which is a credit to his athleticism.”
Arilotta staked Hilton to a 1-nil lead in the 30th minute. The senior took a pass from teammate Noah Malta along the right side and tucked a shot inside the near post past Schroeder keeper Sean Delaney.
Colin Merkey connected on the equalizer less than three minutes into the second half. The Schroeder senior drilled a shot from just outside the 18-yard box to beat Joey Gombatto.
Merkey had another chance moments later off a corner kick but that sailed just high. Danny Pasko followed with a rush from just over the center stripe, but Gombatto was there with a save.
Hilton had a trio of chances to take the lead midway through the second half. Twice Delaney was there for stops. The Cadets best opportunity came when Joshua Ranke worked himself free along the right flank and got to the touch line for a cross that beat Delaney for an open-net chance, but the Cadets could not capitalize.
Cavuoto, though, made the most of his opportunity.
“He’s been the backup goalie now for this is his second season,” Ellicott noted. “He’s pushing for a starting position with that goalkeeper position. Now he’s showing us something on the field.
“In my mind, the best-trained goalies are good strikers of the ball. It’s nice to get them in that spot. It’s fun the way he plays. He’s high energy. He’s all over the place.”
With three victories in the first week of the season, the Warriors came into the game with more wins than they managed all last season.
“That’s the best team we’ve seen this year,” Ellicott said. “We knew that coming in. They were 3-0 with a great result against Brighton. I think a lot of people counted them out early. I definitely did not. They’ve got some talent on that team. They’re solid all the way through.
“One guy comes out and someone fits right into their system. I have a lot of respect for that. They’re prepared no matter who comes in off the bench.”
For Hilton which graduated its entire defensive back four from the Section V Class AA finals team a year ago, the win was a confidence booster.
“It’s a completely new backline,” Ellicott explained. “Other than a goofy error that the boys are kicking themselves about, we played reasonably well in the backline. We were organized. They transitioned the ball well. They’re all very comfortable with the ball at their feet and playing the ball.”
The game was originally scheduled for a 6:00 PM kickoff. A heat advisory forced the start time to be delayed to 7:30 PM.
Schroeder will play at Fairport on Friday. A 4:30 PM start is scheduled.
Hilton will host Penfield for a 3 PM start on Saturday.
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