By PAUL GOTHAM
IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — It was mission accomplished for Spencerport boys’ soccer.
One year after falling in the championship game, Spencerport returned to the Section V Class AA final.
This time the Rangers were not to be denied.
Jaden Allen and Daniel Weiss scored a goal apiece as fourth-seeded Spencerport defeated No. 7 Brighton, 2-0, Tuesday on Erna Frank Field at Eastridge High School.
“It was a mission,” said Spencerport head coach Jody Wyant. “These boys put in the work in the offseason, and it paid off. I’m so proud of them, so proud of them.”
On Friday, Spencerport and top-seeded Churchville-Chili battled for 110 scoreless minutes before the Rangers advanced on penalty kicks. That game was played in 40-degree temperatures with swirling winds on the field.
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Tuesday’s match had a late summer feel to it with gentle breezes and an air temperature of 70 degrees. The Rangers (12-6-1) needed less than a minute to get all the offense they needed.
“We haven’t been a prolific scoring team all year,” Wyant said. “We had to find our way. To get that goal, it was unbelievable. It felt like a huge weight was off our shoulders. Now we were in the driver’s seat. They were chasing the game the rest of the way.”
Michael Tette started the play with a corner kick from the right flag, and Allen finished it for his first goal of the season with 39:19 left in the first half.
“It’s huge,” Wyant said. “That first goal was huge. To get it 41 seconds into the game was ridiculous. Somebody was shining down on us.”
Weiss added an insurance tally with 10:01 left in the game.
The two teams split their regular season series with Brighton’s victory coming during a stretch when Spencerport dropped four of seven games and found itself with a record of 7 wins and 5 losses.
Tuesday’s shutout was the third in four sectional games for Wyant’s squad which has gone unbeaten in five games, its longest such streak of the season.
“If you can’t win the midfield, you can’t dictate the play,” Wyant said of his team’s late-season turnaround. “That’s what it came down to…They bought in, and that was the big thing for these guys – buying in and being positive with each other. And here we are.”
Brighton (9-7-3) had gone unbeaten in six games heading into Tuesday’s action. The Bruins knocked off reigning Class A state champion Aquinas in the semifinals.
“I’m proud of my guys and the run that they made,” Brighton head coach Adam Hiller said. “I’m always honest with my guys. We played terrible tonight. We didn’t play well at all. They kinda took us off our game a little bit.
“That first goal was a killer. It smacked us in the mouth a little bit. Then we just lost the way that we played the last two weeks. I don’t think we were able to string together three, four passes, and that’s a testament to their defense. They had a pretty good scheme against us.”
Spencerport lost to Churchville-Chili in overtime in last season’s AA final. It was a game that the Rangers led at halftime, 2-1. Then seniors Kyle Milburn and Justice Hinman paced an offense that scored 53 goals (in comparison to the current version that has 29 tallies) and was looking to win a second straight title.
Cameron Khuns was a junior on that team.
“It was a drive to want it for the seniors who graduated last year,” the tri-captain said. “Being a senior now, I can’t imagine ending the season on something so unfortunate. I was really just playing for my boys who graduated last year.
“Coach always says, ‘You’re going to bring your kids back to Spencerport High School one day, and the brick is still going to be there.’ This is going to be there forever. It’s such a good feeling.”
Antonio Marsocci made three saves for the shutout.
The sectional title was the 14th in program history tying Spencerport with Belfast, Livonia and Marion for fifth all-time on the Section V Boys’ Soccer list. Only Red Creek (24), Pittsford Mendon (21), Penfield (20) and Haverling (18) have won more championships.
Spencerport will play Section VI champion Clarence (17-2-0) in the New York State Class AA Far West Regional. A 7:30 p.m. kickoff is scheduled Saturday at Geneseo High School.
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