BY JONATHAN SKUZA
CHURCHVILLE, N.Y.– One goal separated the Churchville-Chili Saints and Irondequoit Eagles in the Class A quarterfinals just under a year ago. The Saints claimed that contest 1-0.
For the second year in a row, Irondequoit and Churchville met early in sectionals and the game was decided by one goal.
Jayden Sanza scored the game-winning goal as No. 5 Churchville-Chili advanced to the Class A quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory over No. 12 Irondequoit Friday evening.
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“I thought it was a beautiful game of soccer,” Churchville-Chili head coach John Mahoney said. “I told the guys all week long, that’s a better team than their record said. They played good soccer. I thought it was a beautiful soccer game, a great Section Five soccer game with a lot of energy.”
66th minute- @CCCSDbsoccer takes the lead when Jayden Sanza cleanups a rebound in front after a Colton Shuman free kick! Saints have their first lead of the game! pic.twitter.com/jc1TvPgGnY
— Jon Skuza (@jon_skuza24) October 21, 2022
Irondequoit struck first in the 20th minute Carraig Jones scored his first of two goals on the night after he put home just in front of the Saints’ net.
Kyle Cherry answered for Churchville-Chili three minutes later off a header from a Colton Shuman corner kick. The Saints controlled the momentum for the rest of the first half keeping the Eagles in their half of the field.
The momentum swung Irondequoit’s way in the 49th minute when Jones scored his second tally of the evening on a penalty kick to reclaim the lead. The Eagles suffocated the Saints’ offense in their half of the field for 10 minutes.
Churchville tied the game when Andrew Berardicurti’s cross found Andrew Burke who tapped it in to tie the game once again in the 63rd minute.
Sanza’s goal came three minutes later after Shuman’s free-kick bounced off the Eagle’s goalkeeper and Sanza put it home to give the Saints their first lead of the evening.
“Honestly, it’s almost keep it simple, but also play with some energy,” Mahoney stated about his message when trailing. “It’s a little bit of both. Sometimes you overthink it. We could have had five [goals] in the first half from a yard out and we missed. Sometimes it’s just really just lock your ankles in the right spot at the right time.
23rd Minute- Kyle Cherry puts in a beautiful header from a Colton Shuman header to tie the game at 1! @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/HRttWLG5kw
— Jon Skuza (@jon_skuza24) October 21, 2022
“It’s great, especially one that we scored three goals and we haven’t done that all year long. We have only scored 19 goals in the regular season. So to be down one nothing, to be down two to one and come back and have a three-to-two win was unbelievable honestly because again we just haven’t put the ball in the net like that.”
Three goals is the second-largest amount of goals Churchville had scored in a game this season. The Saints found the back of the net four times back on October 7 against Gates Chili.
Churchville-Chili moves to 10-4-2 on the season and will face the winner No. 4 Pittsford Sutherland on Tuesday, October 25. The game will be a rematch of the past two Class finals.
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