Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Hilton ranked 10th in NYSSWA poll; Churchville-Chili, Greece Odyssey, Williamson, Finney and Mount Morris all start in Top 10

by Leave a Comment

Andrew Cavuoto’s header in the 70th minute proved to be the game winner when Hilton beat Webster Schroeder, 2-1. (Photo: CHRIS ROACH)

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER — Last season it took four weeks and nine wins for the Hilton boys soccer team to get recognized in the NYSSWA weekly rankings. This year, Mike Ellicott‘s 11-man gang starts at No. 10 in the  poll after opening the table with wins in each of their first four games. The Cadets return five starters from last year’s Class AA finalist including keeper Joey Gombatto and first team All-County performer, Justin Arilotta as well as Tom Callery, Noah Malta and Joshua Ranke.

Speaking of Arilotta – this Maradonesque spin move is a keeper.

 

Hilton has outscored opponents 9-2 in the early going and grabbed the lead in Monroe County Division I. Their postseason success will depend upon how well their defense progresses.  The LeBeau Field denizens graduated all four of their defenders from 2017 including David Stirpe (Messiah College/baseball) and Adam Wuest (R.I.T.). Hilton hosts the North Town Derby on Tuesday when Greece Athena travels west along Latta and Manitou Roads for a 7 PM start.

Fairport’s Red Raiders (4-1-0) checked in at No.16 in the Class AA poll. Will Hughes has three clean sheets for the Red Raiders. Fairport hosts divisional rival Victor for 6:30 PM start on Tuesday.

John Mahoney‘s Churchville-Chili squad made the move from Class AA to Class A, and the Saints (3-1-0) start at No. 8 in the poll. Led by Colby Egan (four goals/three assists), the Saints have seven different scorers in the early going. Their only setback came at the hands of Hilton. C-C travels to Irondequoit on Thursday for a 7 PM kickoff.  Pittsford Sutherland (4-1-0), the Class A2 champs a year ago, come in at No. 17. Sutherland hosts Greece Arcadia (2-1-0/1-1-0) for a 7 PM start on Thursday.More about the Knights later.

VIEW MORE CHRIS ROACH PHOTOGRAPHY HERE. 

Greece Odyssey’s 2-0 win over Honeoye Falls-Lima caught the attention of many. The Leopards (4-0-0/3-0-0), a Class B finalist in 2017, rank No. 5 in the state poll. Odyssey plays at East on Friday and Pittsford-Mendon, Saturday. Bath-Haverling (3-0-0) has outscored opponents 20-0 and is No. 11 in Class B. The Rams play Hornell on Wednesday. At 4-0-0, Lisa Anderson‘s Mynderse Blue Devils are No. 19 Class B and will host Waterloo on Wednesday.

All-County performer Dylan Ange (7) is one of six returning starters for Greece Odyssey. (Photo: PAUL GOTHAM/PICKIN’ SPLINTERS)

Williamson (5-0-0/3-0-0) is the highest ranked Section V squad at No.3  Class C. With six goals and seven assists, Justin Eaton leads a lineup which has outscored opponents, 24-6. The Marauders will host North-Rose Wolcott on Wednesday. Byron-Bergen/Elba (4-0-0/2-0-0), a NYS Class C finalist last season, ranks No. 11. The Bees will play at Wheatland-Chili on Wednesday. Geneseo (5-0-0/1-0-0) is tied for No. 15 in Class. The Blue Devils play at Keshequa on Wednesday.

Led by Section V’s top scorer, Ian Lau Atencio (14 goals/5 assists/33 points), C.G. Finney (5-0-0) grabs the No. 5 spot in Class D. Finney plays at Rochester Academy Charter Tuesday at 4:15. Mount Morris (5-0-0/1-0-0) is No. 8 Class D with a match against Perry on Wednesday. LaDre Stanford leads No. 12 Avoca (6-0-0/2-0-0) with 14 goals, two assists and 30 points. Avoca hosts Prattsburgh on Tuesday.

 

Restarts & Counter Attacks

The Sammy Sherzi upper 90 strike is worth another look:

 


Chip Off the Old Block 
When you’re the son of a coach, you learn how to put the team first. Take for example Andrew Cavuoto of  Hilton. The Cadets’ closest call thus far this season came against Webster Schroeder last week. Needing a goal late in the second half, Mike Ellicott went to his bench and summoned Cavuoto … the Cadets backup goaltender. Cavuoto delivered on a play Ellicott aptly described as an “alley oop.” when the junior followed teammate Justin Arilotta’s header off the bar and nodded home the game winner with 10 minutes remaining. After the game, Ellicott could not say enough about Cavuoto’s work ethic and contribution while getting limited playing time. Should come as no surprise that Hilton’s second-string keeper is the son of a Ron Cavuoto – the defensive coordinator of the Section V Class A reigning champion Wilson Wildcats.

Ties That Bind
When Will Bowen lined up a penalty kick in overtime during Friday’s divisional matchup with Brighton, the Sutherland junior looked into the eyes of longtime friend Christian Burkhart. The two started playing soccer at age eight with Rochester FC. The RFC connections didn’t end with Bowen and Burkhart. Gabriel Barraclough-Tan, Connor McQuillan and Sam O’Connor – Burkhart’s Baron teammates – all play on the RFC’s 2001 group which won the 2017 US Club National Championship played in Indiana.

 

It’s a theme that will continue throughout the season especially in Monroe County Division III where Greece Arcadia’s Carter Englert, Cooper LaValley and Tyler Lewandowski all play on the same

Will Bowen (far left) and Christian Burkhart (third from the left) as seen playing 9-under for RFC. (Photo provided)

RFC squad as well as Athena’s Othman Belhseine, Dylan Rice and CJ Takatch.

Hilton’s Arilotta along with Joshua Ranke, Jack Gombatto and Joey Gombatto also play on the squad as does Fairport’s Ryan Collins and Malcolm Kingsley, Penfield’s Chris Ewell and Jackson Vogt, Spencerport’s Ajan Rajamohan and Warsaw’s Ethan Grover.

Barraclough-Tan, Englert, O’Connor, Takatch and Rajamohan traveled together to Ireland this past summer with the GPS National team.

Speaking of Takatch – clearly the Maradona spin move is something that RFC encourages:

 

 

Taktach left at least one fan baffled as to how he completed this:

 

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *