By PAUL GOTHAM
They met in the 2017 Class AA semifinals and twice this past regular season. Tuesday night Hilton’s Cadets (No. 8 NYSSWA) and the Rush-Henrietta Royal Comets (No. 17 NYSSWA) will square off again. This time the Section V Class AA title is on the line. Here’s the breakdown:
No. 1 seed HILTON CADETS (14-2-2/Monroe County Division I) vs. No. 6 seed RUSH-HENRIETTA ROYAL COMETS (9-7-2/Monroe County Division I)
How they got here: Hilton defeated No. 8 seed Webster Thomas, 2-0 in the quarterfinals and Edison Tech, 3-1 in the semifinals. Rush-Henrietta beat Gates-Chili, 3-0 in the opening round and third-seeded Fairport, 1-0 in the quarterfinals before advancing to the finals with a 2-nil win over Penfield.
Season series: The Monroe County Division I rivals met twice during the regular season with Hilton taking both meetings by counts of 2-1 and 1-nil.
Total goals scored: Hilton (36), Rush-Henrietta (21).
Total goals allowed: Hilton (12), Rush-Henrietta (17).
Names to know: Hilton — Hussian Ali (five goals, three assists), Justin Arilotta (11 goals, five assists), Charles Barker (one goal, four assists), Tom Callery (four goals, one assist), Andrew Cavuoto (three goals), Jack Gombatto (two goals, one assist), Joey Gombatto (113 saves, 9 goals allowed), Noah Malta (two goals, four assists), Colden Philps (two assists) and Joshua Ranke (two goals, four assists).
VIEW MORE CHRIS ROACH PHOTOS HERE.
Names to know: Rush-Henrietta — Hunter Kassel (five goals, three assists), Jean Kennedy (two goals), Zack Koops (two goals, one assist), Cory Meintel (three goals, four assists), Jason Pike (five assists), Curtis Rowe (six goals, three assists), Ethan Scheuer (64 saves, eight goals allowed), Billy Urbanski (one assist).
Coaches: Mike Ellicott (Hilton), Jake Falci (Rush-Henrietta)
History 101: Hilton advanced to the 2017 Section V Class AA championship before falling to eventual NYS champion, McQuaid 2-1. The Cadets were the only team to score against McQuaid in six postseason games. The Cadets most recent title came in 2015 when they advanced to NYS Class AA semifinals. Rush-Henrietta will be looking for its first championship in boys soccer since 1960. The Royal Comets last reached the finals in 2008 when they fell to Fairport, 3-0 in the Class AAA title game. Hilton beat R-H 2-nil in last year’s semifinal round.
A 7:30 PM kickoff is scheduled at Spencerport Central Schools.
REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
Class B: BATH HAVERLING (19-0-0/No. 1 NYSSWA) vs. PAL-MAC (16-3-0/No. 15 NYSSWA)
7 PM, Avon Central Schools
Class C: GENESEO (15-3-1/No. 7 NYSSWA) vs. SODUS (13-5-2/No. 12 NYSSWA)
6 PM, Penfield Central Schools
Class D: AVOCA (19-0-0/No. 7 NYSSWA) vs. C.G. FINNEY (18-1-0/No. 10 NYSSWA)
5 PM, Avon Central Schools
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