By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Late in the regular season, Irondequoit boys’ soccer coach Steve Brickler talked about his team peaking at the right time. That was October 3rd when the Eagles knocked off Webster Thomas to go undefeated in four of five games.
Friday afternoon, Brickler’s squad channeled the spirit of that late season run in an upset of Greece Arcadia in the Section V Class A playoffs.
“Sectional soccer, that’s what it is,” Brickler said. “It’s desire. It’s grit. It’s heart.”
Luke Melidona nodded in a second-chance opportunity and No. 12 seed Irondequoit (5-8-4) defeated fifth-seeded Greece Arcadia (9-5-3), 1-0.
“We talk about just keeping balls alive in the box and just letting it bounce around and then see if we can knock one in,” Brickler explained. “That’s what happened.”
A play that started with a throw-in from the left wing deep in Arcadia territory, ended with Melidona rising above the rest to head home the game winner in overtime.
Luke. Melidona. Connects with 8:06 to go in the first overtime and @WIEagles knock off Arcadia pic.twitter.com/DmcqqdzwCA
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 19, 2018
“We kept pressure on them,” the junior midfielder said. “Nate Cup had a great ball in. It went right off Mike’s (Walther) head. It ricocheted around. Cole Senecal kicked it. I put pressure on the goalie. He tipped it out. I just came in with a header and finished it. We’re rolling now.”
The goal ended a battle which saw the Eagles hold off Arcadia and its leading scorer Tyler Lewandowski. The goaltending tandem of Nate Halloran and Tyler Phillips kept Lewandowski in check turning away six shots from the all-state performer.
19’ Nate Halloran denies @SoccerArcadia on the corner kick opportunity. pic.twitter.com/wpCLkLVM4J
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 19, 2018
On back-to-back situations late in the second half, Phillips stopped Lewandowski in the open field on counter-attack opportunities. The senior also stopped the Arcadia star on a point blank opportunity earlier in the half.
“We’re an effort team,” Brickler noted. “We’re not a finesse team by any stretch of the imagination. We just have to outwork every single team we play. If that’s what we do we have a chance in every game and man we did.”
Arcadia had been ranked as high as No. 8 in the NYSSWA Class A poll.
“Arcadia is a great team,” Melidona said. “But we definitely had the energy today, brought it.”
The Eagles will play the winner of Saturday’s match pitting No. 4 seed Wayne (14-1-1/No. 14 in a recent NYSWWA Class A poll) and No. 13 Honeoye Falls-Lima. Irondequoit and Wayne battled to a 1-1 tie on September 1st.
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