By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A late-game substitution paid dividends.
Looking to jump start his offense, Churchville-Chili head coach John Mahoney inserted Andrew Berardicurti into Friday’s Section V Class A Boys’ semi-final.
The sophomore attacker responded with the game winner.
Berardicurti connected on a “golden goal” with 12:29 remaining in the second overtime, and the Saints advanced to Tuesday’s Class A championship game with a 1-0 victory over Greece Arcadia.
“I put him in with two minutes left in the first overtime,” Mahoney said. “I just decided to try something different. Everything we had tried obviously wasn’t putting the ball in the net.”
An errant ball bounced in Berardicurti’s direction along the right flank. He took one touch before striking an Upper 90 blast on the near post.
“He did well to settle it under pressure and then smack it,” Mahoney noted. “In those conditions, it’s hard to take a third touch. He calmly settled it and then put the pace on it.”
Moments earlier, Arcadia senior keeper denied a point blank opportunity from Nick Rippe.
Berardicurti’s shot, though, was out of reach.
“Obviously, he’s been coached and raised by his dad and grandfather who are both so knowledgeable,” Mahoney said referring to Jamie and John Berardicurti. “He just understands where to be.”
12:29 remaining GOAL! Andrew Berardicurti lifts Churchville-Chili to a 1-0 victory. pic.twitter.com/bYougki6ji
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 30, 2021
The goal was Berardicurti’s fourth of the season.
“All of them are big goals for us, those right-place, right-time goals.”
The game pitted sides with stingy defenses. Arcadia had allowed nine goals in its previous 18 games. C-C has seen 13 balls go past its goal line.
“A lot of respect to them,” Mahoney said. “They were very similar to us in many ways. We said that when watching film. They’re a mirror of our team. They defend well. They make it hard for you to score. We both have excellent goal-keeping. We’re very similar teams.”
Weather conditions limited offensive buildup. With temperatures hovering in the mid-to-upper 40s, the game was played in a downpour that started well before opening kickoff.
“In poor conditions, I thought we played really good soccer,” Mahoney said. “The thing that has been a mystery for us this year is that we can’t put that ball in the net. It held true to form. We couldn’t put the ball in the net.”
Mahoney noted the play of senior Gaven Egan.
“They started really well,” Mahoney said of Arcadia (13-4-2). “We had to drop Gaven back. Once he was back there, he just owned the middle of the park. He controlled the play. He got the ball forward into dangerous spots.
“If I could put Gaven both at defensive center mid and forward, I would have done that,” Mahoney said laughing. “We just don’t have the ability to split him in half.”
Churchville (14-2-2) will meet Pittsford Sutherland (16-1-2) on Tuesday in a rematch of last year’s Class A final. The two teams played to a scoreless tie earlier this season.
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