By PAUL GOTHAM
Three Section V Boys’ Soccer teams will look to bring home top honors this weekend when New York State’s best convene in Middletown. Hilton (Class AA), Bath-Haverling (Class B) and Fillmore (Class D) will take the field Saturday in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) semi-finals looking to qualify for Sunday’s championship games. Here’s the breakdown:
Class AA: Saturday, Nov. 13th, 11:15 AM at Middletown High School (Faller Field Turf)
HILTON CADETS (18-1-1/Monroe County Division I)
vs.
MAMARONECK TIGERS (16-5-1/Section I)
How they arrived here: Hilton (No. 3 NYSSWA Class AA) opened sectionals with a 4-0 win over No. 7 seed Rush-Henrietta before defeating reigning sectional champion Penfield in the semi-finals and Fairport in the Class AA finals. The Cadets clinched the program’s third trip to the semi-finals with a 1-nil win over Williamsville-North in the Far West Regional. Mamaroneck defeated Warwick, 3-1 in the regional semifinals before clinching the program’s first trip to the state semi-finals with a 4-0 win over Corning-Painted Post (IV) in the regional final.
Players to Watch for Hilton: Cody Cavuoto Sr. MF 23 goals, 11 assists; Ben Cronk Jr. GK 58 saves, 10 goals allowed, 1,010 minutes in goal; Luca Dodge Jr. MF/D three goals; Finn French five goals, two assists; Anthony Inglese two goals, nine assists; Logan Matthews So. A four goals, three assists; Alec Smith Sr. MF 15 goals, 14 assists; Jonathan Resnick Sr. MF eight goals, eight assists.
Players to Watch for Mamaroneck: Philip Koutsaftis MF; Alejandro Londono Sr. MF; Milton Mancias-Magana Sr. F; Vincent Repoulis Sr. GK; Manny Vidal.
History 101: Hilton last reached the state semi-finals in 2015 when the Cadets fell to eventual state champion Walt Whitman (XI). That Cadet squad finished the regular season with a record of 6-9-1 before finding its stride in sectionals. Hilton won the 1987 NYS Class A title when it defeated Union-Endicott (IV), 4-0 and Garden City (VIII), 2-1 in the state championship game. Mamaroneck (No. 2 NYSSWA Class AA) is trying to become the first Section I team to win a Class AA state title since New Rochelle in 2016.
Section V has an all-time record of 12 wins, 11 losses and one tie in state tournament games against Section I teams. The most recent Section V team to beat a Section I counterpart was Greece Athena in 2014 when the Trojans topped Byram Hills, 2-1 in overtime to reach the state finals. Since then Section I teams have taken four straight in head-to-head meetings.
What’s at stake: A spot in Sunday’s NYS Class AA final against the Fayetteville-Manlius (III) vs. West Islip (XI) winner.
Class B: Saturday, Nov. 13th, 11:30 AM at Middletown High School (Faller Field Grass)
BATH-HAVERLING RAMS (21-0-0/Livingston County Division 1)
vs.
BEEKMANTOWN EAGLES (13-6-3/Section VII)
How they arrived here: Bath-Haverling (No. 2 NYSSWA Class B) opened sectionals with an 8-0 win over No. 8 seed Letchworth/Warsaw in the quarterfinals before moving on to defeat Bishop Kearney (4-2) in the semifinals and Wayland-Cohocton (9-2) in the finals. The Rams clinched a spot in the Far West Regional with a 7-2 win over Hornell before beating East Aurora (VI), 3-1 to reach the state semi-finals. Beekmantown defeated Salmon River (X), 2-1 in the regional qualifier and outlasted Greenville (then No. 2 NYSSWA Class B with a 19-0-0 record) in PKs to reach Saturday’s state semi-final.
Players to Watch for Bath-Haverling: Keefer Calkins Sr. A 46 goals, 14 assists; Braden Yartym Sr. MF 11 goals, 17 assists; Zach Musso Jr. A 14 goals, four assists; Ezra Hoad So. D 16 goals, seven assists; Jamie O’Neil Sr. eight goals, three assists; A. J. Brotz Sr. GK 86 saves, seven goals allowed, 1396 minutes in goal
Players to Watch for Beekmantown: Owen Beebe Jr. four goals, three assists; Josh Burgin Jr. four goals, four assists; Ethan Burke Sr. six goals, eight assists; Zach DuBray Sr. 14 goals, two assists; Rocco Golden Sr. GK 139 saves, 21 goals allowed; Brady Mannix Jr. two goals, six assists.
History 101: Bath-Haverling is looking to clinch a spot in the state championship game for the first time since 1996 when the Rams claimed the Class B title. Bath-Haverling reached the state semis in 2019 after a 24-year absence. Beekmantown last advanced to the state semis in 2014 when the Eagles knocked off Livonia to reach the state finals. Section V has a record of four wins, six losses and one tie against their North Country counterparts.
What’s at stake: A spot in Sunday’s NYS Class B final against the Skaneateles (III) vs. Westlake (I) winner.
Class D: Saturday, Nov. 13th, 12:45 PM at Twin Tiers Middle School
FILLMORE EAGLES (19-2-0/Allegany County Division 1)
vs.
CHAZY EAGLES (17-1-0/SECTION VII)
How they arrived here: Fillmore (No. 6 NYSSWA Class D) started sectionals with a 3-nil win over Mount Morris before going on to top Wheatland-Chili (2-1), Arkport/Canaseraga (2-0) and C.G. Finney (1-0) to reach the state quarter-finals where the Eagles used a strong second half to beat Ellicottville. Chazy (No. 1 NYSSWA Class D) has not allowed a goal in the post-season starting with a 3-nil win over Schroon Lake before beating Willsboro Central, 3-0 for the Section VII title. The Eagles edged Lisbon Central, 1-0 in the regional final.
Total goals scored: Fillmore (94), Chazy (56)
Total goals allowed: Fillmore (16), Chazy (7)
Players to Watch for Fillmore: Graham Cahill Sr. SW seven goals, two assists; Luke Colombo Jr. GK 45 saves, five goals allowed, 1,025 minutes played; Jack Cool So. MF 12 goals, seven assists; Nooradeen Muziad-Omar Sr. A seven goals, 17 assists; Zach Sisson Jr. A nine goals, 13 assists; Mitchell Ward Jr. A 32 goals, eight assists.
Players to Watch for Chazy: Reagan Dudyak Jr. seven goals, two assists; Dale Gonyo, Jr. Sr. five goals, four assists; Peter Labarge Jr. 19 goals, 12 assists; Dylan McAfee So. two goals, five assists; Luke Moser Jr. 19 goals, 12 assists; Zane Stevens Sr. GK 81 saves, seven goals allowed, 1,440 minutes played.
When they last met: Saturday will mark the third time Fillmore and Chazy have met in the state semi-finals with Chazy taking both of the previous decisions: 2-1 overtime victory in 2005 and 2-nil win in 1999. Chazy has won outright or shared nine NYS Class D titles since 2004.
What’s at stake: A spot in Saturday’s NYS Class D final against the Mount Academy (IX) vs. South Kortright Central (IV) winner.
More history: Since the inception of the NYSPHSAA Boys’ Soccer Tournament in 1978, Section V sides have won more titles (43) than any other region. Local sides have claimed 24.5 percent of the 175 championships. Of those, 32 have been outright. Pittsford Mendon leads the way with six such NYS titles followed by Red Creek (4) and Aquinas (3). Holley, Naples, Penfield and Pittsford Sutherland have all won two titles apiece with another 11 schools bringing home one outright state crown: Bath-Haverling, Bloomfield, Cardinal Mooney, Gates-Chili, Greece Arcadia, Greece Athena, Hilton, Jasper-Troupsburg, Marion, McQuaid Jesuit and Northstar Christian (Livonia shared the 2012 Class B championship).
Cornell University hosted the first NYS tournament that was competed at three classifications (A, B and C). Class D was added in 1980 and AA in 2004. Two Section V teams (Penfield ’04 and McQuaid ’17) have won outright Class AA titles while Section V teams have combined to win 10 Class A championships, 14 Class B, 11 Class C and six Class D titles.
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