BY STEVE BRADLEY
GATES, N.Y. – Byron-Bergen girls soccer coach Wayne Hill didn’t hesitate when asked to rank where his team’s latest championship ranked in the Bees’ run of four straight Section V titles.
“The latest one is always the greatest one,” Hill said after the Bees’ 1-0 victory over Genesee Region rival Kendall in the Class C2 final at Gates Chili High School.
The second-seeded Bees (18-1-1) needed some late-game heroics from junior Mia Gray to defeat the top-seeded Eagles (18-2) for the second time this season.
Gray, who gave a verbal commitment to play at the University of Florida in June, took a pass from Riley Shallenberger and scored from 20 yards out with 8:26 to play.
“Riley crossed it in and I took my first touch,” said Gray, who leads Section V with 35 goals this season. “It was on my left foot and my left foot is usually pretty good. It wasn’t the best shot but it had enough on it to go in.”
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JENNIFER LAEMLEIN.
And when it did?
“My heart skipped a beat,” Gray said. “I was like, ‘No way, that just went in,’ and the whole team was so happy and it was a great feeling.”
Kendall responded with some pressure immediately after Gray’s goal, but B-B regrouped and was able to preserve the clean sheet in front of senior keeper Natalie Prinzi.
“I knew that our team just had to play really good defense,” junior forward Grace DiQuattro said of her reaction to Gray’s goal. “It didn’t matter if we scored again, it just mattered that they didn’t score.”
Kendall’s best opportunity actually came early in the second half when sophomore Sophia Picardo hit the crossbar and the Eagles knocked the rebound off the goalpost.
Gray nearly gave the Bees the lead with three minutes left in the first half, but her direct kick from 20 yards curled onto the top of the goal.
Gray, who normally plays midfield, moved to forward at the start of the second half and hit the crossbar from about 25 yards out in the 49th minute.
“She was just looking for the ball,” Hill said. “She just saw someplace where there was maybe a spot to exploit a little bit. The great part about when she moved up is that Lucy (Rea) stepped up huge in the back. She’s a freshman and she just played outstanding tonight. … She and Megan Jarkiewicz play so well together that it gives the midfielders the freedom to move up when they need to.”
B-B had a glorious opportunity midway through the second half when Shallenberger sent Janessa Amesbury in alone on a three-on-one, but Kendall keeper Brooke Rodas read the play perfectly and came off her line to make a spectacular stop.
“Our fast-paced passing and our desire to never give up and keep wanting more really helped our team glow in the second half,” B-B junior midfielder Elizabeth Starowitz said. “We don’t get down on each other when someone makes a mistake. We build them up and just keep grinding and getting the Ws.”
While some may look at the final score and say the Bees latest triumph was a case of a standout player lifting their team in a big moment, Hill said that would be an oversimplification.
“There were kids out here that did stuff all night long,” said Hill, who mentioned sophomore Emma Matthews filling in at several positions due to injuries. “Just getting a toe in and poking the ball off of a Kendall player’s foot so they didn’t get a fastbreak on us, that happened all over the place and that was huge.
“Coaches notice those things that fans don’t and we had some great plays by everybody out there. … The whole team has a lot of drive and character.”
Byron-Bergen will play Williamson, which advanced out of Class C1, in the Far West Regional qualifier at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Caledonia-Mumford.
Leave a Reply