By PAUL GOTHAM
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Members of the Aquinas boys’ soccer team gathered on the track just off the turf of Middletown High School’s Faller Field. Clad in identical tee-shirts with medals draped around their necks to signify the state championship they had just won, they were finishing their first of many celebrations.
A smiling Alfonso Vito called out “What do we do now, coach?”
The question, simple on the surface, captured the mental approach of a team that kept its gaze looking forward throughout a season of 22 games.
The Li’l Irish (20-0-2) had taken on all comers over the past three months. On Saturday, they capped off an unbeaten season with a 3-2 overtime win in Class A state championship game.
For the second time in as many days, JB Leary provided the game winner. This one came in dramatic fashion with 10:42 left in the second overtime.
“There are absolutely no words to describe it,” the senior forward said. “We’ve been working at this all year. We put in the work every day at practice. It paid off in the end.”
Leary took advantage of a rebound off his initial attempt to score his 11th goal of the season.
“The rebound fell back to me, and I put it home,” he said. “It just kind of fell to me. I made sure to put it away.”
The title was the fourth in Aquinas boys’ soccer program history but first since 2006 and the first for 11th-year head coach Josh Gleason.
“I’m really proud of the boys,” he said. “We had a ton adversity, but we found a way when it was important to get it done. You get to this game, and you want to make sure that you finish it off.”
Winning the championship – at least an outright title – looked bleak at one point. After surging to a 2-0 lead, the Li’l Irish found themselves backed into their defensive end late in the second half.
“Of course, it had to be the hard way,” Gleason said. “I never felt comfortable at two-nothing.”
On Friday, Byram Hills (I) rallied with a man down to tie their semifinal match with Mineola (VIII) before winning in overtime. On Saturday, the Bobcats scored twice in a four-minute span to level the match.
“They never flinched at two-nothing,” Gleason said. “They sent numbers. They did a good job squaring it up.”
With the momentum, that it had built throughout the first half gone, Aquinas recovered late in the second half and regained possession. In the first overtime, the Li’l Irish were the aggressors and had 2-0 advantage in shots on goal.
Gleason pointed to his team’s conditioning as the reason for the win.
“We have a saying: ‘Physical fitness breeds mental toughness.’ When you’re physically fit, you’re not questioning the runs. You’re not questioning your body. All year, the boys did a good job with their fitness.
“When you’re on our sideline going into overtime, it’s great to not have to think about fitness, to not have to think ‘all right, who do we have to steal minutes for?’ It was never a discussion. A lot of these guys are gym rats, and it shows on the field.”
Charlie Sorensen ran down the second ball off an Ali Shabani corner kick from the left flag.
“The last five minutes of regulation, we were beating them,” Sorensen said. They lost all their energy. We were like ‘we just got to stay with it, stay together and do what we’ve been doing 90 percent of the game.”
Sorensen played the ball back to Shabani who one-timed a cross into the middle of the 18-yard box and found Tin Tin Pasia unmarked.
“Throughout the whole game, we were beating them in the air,” Sorensen said. “There was no one really contesting for them. I knew if we kept swinging and putting those balls in the box, we were going to get one eventually. In the first half, we almost had a goal from that same play – heading it across the box and attacking.”
Pasia won the ball in the air and touched it to Leary who redirected it with his left thigh before pouncing on the second chance.
“We knew we just had to stay calm,” Leary said. “It’s tough giving up two goals like that. A lot of momentum was on their side, but we knew that we had it. We were pounding toward the end. We knew we just had to keep it going in overtime. We got it done.”
Pasia finished the game with a goal and two assists. The sophomore wing started the scoring with a left-footed blast from 20 yards for a 1-nil lead in the 26th minute. He then set up Nicola Costa for a 2-0 advantage with 31:05 to go in the game.
Billy Gillespie converted a penalty kick with 20:49 remaining to get Byram Hills on the the scoreboard. Harrison Boyd connected on the equalizer with 17:10 left on the clock.
Entering the second overtime, there was a real possibility of the teams being named co-champs as the state, by rule, does not go to penalty kicks to decide the final.
“Our team has done this before this year,” Gleason said. “Down one-nothing to Mendon at half earlier in the season. We were down one-nothing to McQuaid at the end of the season.
“We told the kids to ‘let’s get moving the ball, play our game and maybe good things will happen.’ It’s little bit different then being a co-champ, for us. That would have been tough for us to live down, and tough for us to wrap our heads around. At the end, we were still able to get it done.”
Aquinas keeper, LJ Gleason made eight saves for the win.
“He had some big saves in overtime and in regulation,” the elder Gleason said. “He was tested a lot today. He was tested a lot in the air and he was tested on the ground. He made some huge saves for us.”
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