Aquinas and Pittsford Sutherland came into the Section V Class A girls’ soccer sectional tournament as the top two seeds, and they’ve played up to the billing, winning their way through to a matchup on Saturday at Canandaigua Academy with the sectional title on the line. Here’s what you need to know:
No. 1 seed AQUINAS LI’L IRISH (15-1-2/Private Parochial League)
vs.
No. 2 seed PITTSFORD SUTHERLAND KNIGHTS (12-3-3/Monroe County Division III)
How they arrived here: Aquinas started its tournament in the quarterfinals, where the Li’l Irish blanked No. 8 seed Honeoye Falls-Lima, 5-0. Aquinas then shut out No. 5 seed Greece Olympia, 3-0, to advance to the finals. Sutherland opened its tournament with a 6-1 quarterfinals win over Geneva before edging out Palmyra-Macedon in the semis, 1-0.
Total Goals Scored: Aquinas 56, Sutherland 43
Total Goals Allowed: Aquinas 6, Sutherland 20
Trends: Aquinas hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat to Spencerport on Sept. 11 and hasn’t allowed a goal since a 4-1 win over Byron-Bergen on Oct. 3. The Li’l Iriish haven’t allowed multiple goals in one game all season long. Sutherland enters the finals on a four-game win streak where the Knights have outscored their opponents a combined 10-3.
Players to watch for Aquinas: Sienna Fallone Fr. M 22 goals, 15 assists; Bella Muratore So. F Six goals, four assists; Juliana Sevio Jr. F Four goals, two assists; Julianna Shannon So. F Three goals, three assists; Lily Bell Jr. D Six goals; Mia Cariola Jr. M Four goals, two assists; Goalies Liz Tantalo Jr. and Julia Cody Sr. have combined to allow six goals.
Sutherland: Madison Littlefield So. GK 500 minutes played, three goals allowed; Meghan Joerger Sr. M 10 goals, seven assists; Alexandra Bova Sr. M/F Nine goals, 11 assists; Callie Johnson Sr. D/M Four goals, three assists; Emma Wesley So. Four goals, three assists; Kate Pinto So. Three goals, three assists
Coaches: Adam Schwartz (Aquinas), Adam Palumbo (Sutherland)
History 101: These two teams played earlier in the season, on Oct. 7. Aquinas won a 1-0 game behind a goal by Lily Bell.
Historically, Aquinas has won a Girls’ Soccer Championship 14 times, second only to Livonia (17) in Section V history. Their most recent title came in 2017. Last season, the Li’l Irish made the Class B1 semifinals before falling to Palmyra-Macedon, 1-0. Sutherland has won six Section V titles, most recently 1994. Last season, Sutherland fell in the Class A quarterfinals to Greece Athena, 2-1.
What’s next: The winner of Saturday’s game will play regionals at Webster Schroeder on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 1:00 P.M.
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