By PAUL GOTHAM
FAIRPORT, N.Y. — When they met three weeks ago, Fairport and Penfield needed extra time to get a decision. Wednesday night was no different except the outcome.
The Red Raiders and Patriots, battling at the top of Monroe County Division I, finished with a 1-1 tie.
“This is always a big game for the both of us,” Penfield coach John Cotsonas said of the matchup. “We’re 15 minutes away from each other. My guys know their guys. They play club together. The last game was the same thing, 1-1 into overtime. We found a goal in that game. We just talked it about it, ‘we’re going to see them again down the line when sectionals roll around.'”
Sophomore Shane McMillan gave Penfield the lead less than seven minutes into the match. Fairport sophomore Garrett Kucera leveled the score with 16.9 seconds remaining in the first half.
“Second half of the season all these games become a little bit more meaningful,” Fairport coach Gianni Bussani commented. “Now we’ve seen each other already. Penfield’s always going to battle. They work hard. I thought we created some good chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish enough.”
Penfield (3-2-2/3-1-2) started quickly hitting the crossbar before McMillan connected on his team-leading fifth marker of the season. The Patriots had more opportunities in the first half but could not capitalize.
“We felt like we got some really good chances,” Cotsonas noted. “We got two balls that we’re right across the face of goal and nobody was back post. That was my comment to them going into the overtime. I’m like ‘you don’t have to be an awesome soccer player to put that in. If you make the run and you do your job, and you’re there, then you’re sitting there with a knee or something. It doesn’t have to be pretty to go in the goal.”
Kucera gathered the rebound from a Jude Rouhana blast inside the 18-yard box and found the back of the net.
“We got lucky because it deflected,” Bussani explained. “It landed near Garrett, but he was there for a reason.”
“We think the goal was a poor clearance,” Cotsonas said. “That kid’s in the right place at the right time. They deserved it. Definitely.”
For Bussani and Fairport their attack focused on getting Penfield center back Joe Vogt out of the middle third of the pitch.
“We were trying to move him toward the ball and play opposite. That was the whole idea, so he couldn’t defend as well as he was defending.”
Fairport had another chance early in the second half when a misplay in the Penfield backline left gave the Red Raiders a one-on-one opportunity. Penfield keeper Ryan Wensley quickly came off his line to shut down the angle.
After that, Fairort struggled to find open space inside Penfield’s 18-yard box.
“We put a lot of emphasis on keeping the ball, moving it and creating tempo in the game,” Bussani explained. “We didn’t do that well enough tonight. They were able to shut us down. If we play with a higher tempo and we can move them and play the opposite side of the field, then we can catch them. Kudos to John and how he prepares his team to defend.”
The Patriots have allowed just six goals in seven games with only one opponent (Victor) scoring more than goal against Penfield.
“We work on that defensive block every single day,” Cotsonas said when asked about his defense’s success. “Our kids have bought into that, and we started that last year. The kids have bought in. My JV coach teaches the same thing. It’s a program thing to block that and get them out of the middle.”
McMillan scored the winning goal in overtime when Penfield won the first meeting between the two teams.
Fairport (6-2-2/5-1-1) sits atop Monroe County Division I with 16 points. The Red Raiders have three games remaining in the division. Penfield is in second with 11 points and four games left.
“We’re pretty even, both of us,” Cotsonas said. “Both teams play pretty hard. We’ll be excited to play them again if we get the chance. It might be one little momentum change that creates a win in a sectional match or it might even go to PKs.”
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