By PAUL GOTHAM
CHURCHVILLE, N.Y. — Losing 16 players from last year’s Class A sectional finalist, John Mahoney knew his current squad needed a chance to find its own identity. Wednesday night’s season-opening win over reigning Class AA champion Hilton gave that process a jump start.
Jacob Anthony took a Mario Cozzo lead in full stride and connected on the lone marker of the night as Churchville-Chili downed Hilton, 1-0.
“I saw the ball coming and made a run and I beat the guy,” Anthony said of his goal that came less than 10 minutes into the second half. “I just got a foot on it.”
Moments earlier, Cozzo hit the crossbar from the left corner. The senior midfielder then flicked a Colton McCane service inches over the crossbar. He threaded the assist through the Hilton backline after taking a feed from the flank.
“You go outside, inside then outside back to the inside, it’s good soccer,” Mahoney said of the winning goal. “They play a strong flat back defense and a keeper who comes hard, so you need that quick interchange. We talked about that at halftime. You need the ball here, here, here (Mahoney said motioning to different parts of the field). Then the goalie freezes, and he only froze for a half a second.”
Zach Main made seven saves on the night for the clean sheet. None bigger than a stop with less than eight minutes remaining in the contest.
Brilliant save by Zach Main 7 to go @CCCSDbsoccer 1-0 pic.twitter.com/mR9nEzOcQj
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) August 28, 2019
“I just saw the ball coming, and I knew I had to do something in that moment,” the senior keeper said. “It worked out in my favor.”
Hilton’s Andrew Leckinger cut back along the left side and found teammate Cody Cavuoto on the far post with a cross. Main denied the header.
His effort earned him the captain’s role in the Saints next match.
“I thought he played really, really well,” Mahoney said of Main. “He’s a guy who played 108 shutout minutes in a sectional final. He’s a senior and he knows what he’s got to do. He led the whole way. I thought he talked really well. I was waiting to give him an arm band until I heard him talk an entire game. He earned it tonight. Goalies have to talk to be captains.”
The two teams have split four games over the past four seasons with the home team taking each decision over that stretch.
“We scored 77 goals last year, so to come out and get a 1-0 victory, which we’re going to need to do more, it was great,” Mahoney noted. “One-O victories are grown-men victories. It is not easy. You saw it. They were coming at us. They were coming at us hard. They wanted that tying goal. My guys held up. They stood up. They weren’t lunging. They were staying behind the ball. We made it difficult for them, and they move the ball around well. I’m really proud of my guys.”
Mario Cozzo flicked this Colton McCane direct over the bar. Less than a minute later, Cozzo caught Jacob Anthony in stride to give @CCCSDbsoccer a 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/IdgHJVVjYY
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) August 28, 2019
Likewise Hilton lost nine starters from last year’s team that claimed a 2-1 win over Rush-Henrietta in the Class AA championship game.
“They got to the final last year,” Hilton head coach Mike Ellicott said of the Saints. “I thought they got very unlucky to lose in that final. They’ve got a bunch of guys and we’ve got a bunch of guys that were kinda in the shadows last year. This is their opportunity to step out and say ‘hey we can continue this program’s success.’ I think it showed. There was a lot passion on the field tonight. That’s exactly how we want things to start from a spirit standpoint.”
Andrew Cavuoto made eight saves for the Cadets. Cavuoto denied Nick Millard a chance to add to the lead making a sprawling save with less than 22 minutes remaining in the contest.
“Without that goalie, we put three goals in,” Mahoney stated. “He played an excellent game.”
“He’s a huge voice in our group, a great captain,” Ellicott said of his keeper. “Somebody that puts everything on his own shoulders.”
Hilton hosts Rush-Henrietta next Tuesday in a rematch of last year’s AA final.
“They boys are disappointed,” said Ellicott. “It’s not fun to lose your season opener. In a strange way, their reaction it felt like we lost a sectional final. It was very interesting to hear them talk and how disappointed they were. It’s a good sign because then it really means something for you. It’s definitely not a good feeling but at the same time it was interesting to see how they responded.”
Churchville travels to Wayne on Saturday for a rematch of last year’s Class A semifinal, a game the Saints won 3-2.
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