By PAUL GOTHAM
IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Sean Griffin won’t soon forget his third goal of the 2024 High School Boys’ Soccer season.
With time winding down in the second overtime and penalty kicks looming, Griffin won a battle outside the six-yard box and went near post to lift top-seeded Fairport to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over second-seeded McQuaid.
“I saw the ball in the air and gave the defender a little nudge,” the junior attacker said. “I shot the ball as hard as I could. Luckily, it fit in right between the post and the goalkeeper.”
The goal capped a rally that saw Fairport level the match with 4:10 remaining in regulation.
Griffin ran down a ball along the right for the game winner.
“I saw the inside post, and that’s where I was aiming,” he said. “ I went for a little bit of laces and the outside of my foot and connected perfectly.”
The championship was the second straight for Fairport, which beat McQuaid, 1-0 in the 2023 AAA final, and 12th in program history.
“That was a hard-fought battle,” said Fairport head coach Bill Teasdale. “You got to give McQuaid a lot of credit. They were down a goal and scored two quick ones on us. I’m extremely proud of the way our guys battled back…This group is unique in that they always find a way.”
Regulation was a battle of dueling braces with Ryan Mathis giving Fairport the lead less than nine minutes into the match.
McQuaid answered in the second half with Sammy Maaraba converting on back-to-back corner kicks less than four minutes apart to give the Jesuit Knights a 2-1 lead with 14:01 left on the clock.
“They’re a really athletic team and make it tough for you to try and play,” McQuaid head coach Jeff Oliver said of Fairport. “It makes it really difficult when they don’t let you get in the rhythm.”
Maaraba poked in a Lucas Christiano service from the left flag to get McQuaid on the scoreboard in the 63rd minute.
Less than four minutes later, Maaraba was on the finishing end of a Leo Furgiuele corner kick from the right flag.
“We just tried to find a way to get into our rhythm a little bit,” Oliver said. “We had a nice little spell and were able to get a couple goals.
“They (Fairport) dug deep and came back at us. It was what we figured it would be, right until the end.”
Mathis provided the equalizer with his second goal of the night and team-leading 16th of the season.
The senior tucked a free kick from 20 yards out under the cross bar to level the match.
“That tying goal gave us momentum going into overtime,” Teasdale said. “It gave us a confidence boost. That goal carried us through the rest of the game.”
Fairport will face Section VI champion, Lancaster in the NYS Class AAA Far West Regional.
A 2:30 p.m. kickoff is scheduled Saturday, November 9th at Geneseo High School.
Tuesday’s AAA championship was played on Erna Frank Field at Eastridge High School.
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