By PAUL GOTHAM
HONEOYE FALLS, N.Y. — Justice Hinman connected on a pair of goals while Josiah Warrington added another score as top-seeded Spencerport erased an early deficit and defeated No. 4 Penfield, 3-1 in Section V Class AA Boys’ Soccer action, Thursday night from Honeoye Falls-Lima High School.
Deadlocked at one going into halftime, Spencerport needed nine minutes to grab a commanding lead.
“We told them at halftime that we got to come out and push the pace, just play fast,” said Spencerport head coach Jody Wyant. “We’re better when we’re passing the ball and moving the ball. Do we have some guys that are skilled individually? Yeah, but we don’t want to rely on that.”
Warrington converted on a corner kick opportunity less than seven minutes into the second half. Hinman found the back of the net two-plus minutes later.
Warrington’s goal followed the Spencerport blueprint for the game. Kyle Milburn sent a low-driving service from the right flag that barely left the turf. Brendan Coe redirected the cross from the top of 18-yard box to Warrington on the back post who took two touches before finishing in the opposite side netting.
“Penfield has a lot of big guys,” Wyant said referring to the Patriots Troy Gallagher (6-foot-3), Brock Bell (6-foot-1) and Paul Rolland (6-foot-1). “We don’t have that. The corner kick that we scored off, that’s what we worked on all week in practice. Keeping the ball on the ground. That was what we could be successful at.”
47’ Josiah Warrington converts in the corner kick. @RangersBSoccer 2-1 pic.twitter.com/JiXOheMs5C
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 26, 2023
Hinman one-timed a Jayden Mandarano cross from the left flank for the final margin of victory. That sequence started on the other side of midfield with the Rangers gaining possession before fanning the ball to the wing.
“We told the guys we have to play in the wide channels,” Wyant explained. “They’re too tall. We’re not a tall team. That’s not our bread and butter. We’re good when the ball is at our feet and we scan before finding the next outlet.”
Penfield took a 2-nil decision when the two teams met in mid-September.
“Their stress and their athleticism made us make mistakes that we don’t usually make,” said Penfield head coach John Cotsonas. “We beat them the first time because we dealt with all of that. They made some adjustments. We made some adjustments.
“We played their tempo tonight. That pace was too high to deal with all the time, and we made some mistakes that we don’t usually make. That’s because of the style they play, and the pressure they put on us.”
Early second-half pressure from Spencerport. pic.twitter.com/pnT301uM7J
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 26, 2023
Penfield had the upper hand early. Rolland scored his 17th goal of the season less than two minutes into the game.
“If you told me Paul was going to score early, I’d take that and think that we’d have a pretty good chance,” Cotsonas said. “We froze under the stress from their pressure. Better team won tonight because they made the plays.”
Hinman forced a giveaway in the Penfield end and leveled the match. The goal came after the Rangers pushed forward for a pair of corner kicks and a direct kick in the 10 minutes leading up to the equalizer.
“This team doesn’t bury its head,” Wyant said. “They can come back. They know it. That’s what I think makes them successful. We’re not playing from behind very often. When we do, there’s no sense of panic.”
Hinman, who missed games earlier in the season because of an injury, scored his 10th and 11th goals of the year. Warrington’s marker was the senior’s first of the year.
Spencerport will face No. Churchville-Chili in the Class AA final. A 7 PM kickoff is scheduled Tuesday, October 31st at HF-L.
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