By PAUL GOTHAM
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — With one nod of the head, Ian Fediuk beat a pending weather front and sent the Hilton Cadets to the 2021 New York State Class AA Boys’ Soccer Championship Game.
Less than two minutes into the first overtime, the senior midfielder redirected a Johnny Resnick cross lifting the Hilton Cadets to a 3-2 win over Mamaroneck (I) in state semi-final action from Faller Field on the campus of Middletown High School.
“It was fantastic,” Hilton head coach Mike Ellicott said of the game winner. “Great ball in. Ian creeped in at the back post and nodded it in.”
Luca Dodge started the winning play along the right wing with a free kick from just inside midfield that Anthony Inglese heel-flicked. Resnick caught up with the ball near the end line along the left flank and played a service into the box that Fediuk buried into the back of the net.
The hero in last week’s regional win over Williamsville-North, Fediuk is collecting nicknames with each post-season game winner.
“We’re not dubbing him ‘Text-book Fediuk’ anymore,” Ellicott joked when referring to last Friday’s game winner that looked like so many he has hit in practice. “He’s Mr. November. That’s a big baseball term right? You’ve heard Mr. October. We found Mr. November. He’s having an experience that he’s never ever going to be able to forget.”
GOALLLLLLL!!! @HiltonSoccer clinches a spot in Sunday’s final! Ian Fediuk does it again! pic.twitter.com/C56qCkJzGG
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 13, 2021
Having allowed just one goal in four previous post-season games, the Cadets found themselves holding off a feisty Mamaroneck side that did not allow the Cadets to get a comfortable lead.
“It’s just been something really fun to see how gritty this team has been, the tenacity that we’ve had,” Ellicott stated. “They don’t like to go behind.”
Cody Cavuoto took an Alec Smith feed and started the scoring for Hilton in the game’s 15th minute. Two minutes later, Philip Koutsaftis leveled the match for Mamaroneck.
15’ GOALLLLL Buildup starts at midfield with Johnny Resnick. Sweet combination between Alec Smith and Cody Cavuoto with Cavuoto finishing. @HiltonSoccer 1-nil. pic.twitter.com/xLAiqceIQz
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 13, 2021
Smith and Cavuoto combined again with Smith connecting on his 16th goal of the season for a 2-1 Hilton lead with 7:14 remaining in the first half.
32’ GOALLLLL! Cody Cavuoto and Alec Smith combine again. This time Smith puts the finishing touches on the play. @HiltonSoccer 2-1. pic.twitter.com/LOZYHAbCgC
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 13, 2021
Milton Mancias-Magana provided Mamaroneck’s response with 1:34 left before the break. The momentum carried over into the second stanza.
“I thought we had a really great first half and probably should have scored a goal more at least,” Ellicott noted. “We gave up two gifts to them which was unfortunate.
“Full credit to Mamaroneck. They came at us for a solid ten minutes. It was really a hold-on-for-the-ride situation. We bunkered down a little bit like we had to do with Williamsville-North, just wait for our moment and we found it.”
The second half didn’t have any goals, but plenty of opportunities existed.
“It was a back-and-forth game at the end. Last eight minutes was absolutely bonkers. It was attack after attack, back and forth. It was like watching two heavyweights punching each other. Someone’s going to land the knockout blow.”
It was fitting that Resnick assisted on the winner.
Twice the senior attacker had two opportunities for a go-ahead marker late in the second half.
“He always finds a way to get the ball and have one more opportunity,” Ellicott said. “More often than not as we’ve gone through the season he’s found that last chance and it’s been that chance that’s changed the game.”
Resnick placed the winning service just outside the six-yard box.
“He’s had a great post-season for us, and he’s really understood his role now as we’ve gone through the season…You could feel that there was a moment building for him, and he had his moment.”
Hilton last reached the state semis in 2015, Ellicott’s first year as head coach. That Cadet squad lost to eventual champion Walt Whitman.
“This is a business trip,” Ellicott said. “In 2015, we were just so happy to be there. We had no idea what we were doing. We had great kids and great families that all jumped on board and helped us get through the whole experience.”
Saturday’s win was the 13th straight for the Cadets.
“We know now when to sit down and lock in. We had a great time when we came down yesterday. We went out to the mall, did some fun stuff together. That’s great. You’ve got to enjoy those things, but you’ve also got to remember you’re here to do a job.”
Hilton will play West Islip (XI) in Sunday’s championship game. A 10:45 AM kickoff is scheduled.
The Cadets will be looking to win their first state title since 1987. That Hilton squad defeated Garden City during chilly conditions at CW Post College.
On Saturday, darks clouds covered the field in the closing moments of regulation. As the teams returned to their respective benches after the horn to end regulation, public address announcer Ed Estrada gave fans instructions for what to do if lightning appeared.
Fediuk’s strike didn’t give the weather front a chance to delay the outcome of the contest.
Mamaroneck tried to place an official protest on the winning goal. The protest, though, came after the conclusion of the game and the sequence in question was deemed a judgment call.
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