Senior scores team-high 32nd and 33rd goals of the season.
By PAUL GOTHAM
WEST SENECA, N.Y. — A win two years in the making.
The last time the Fillmore boys’ soccer team played at West Seneca West High School, the Eagles saw a 43-game winning streak and their 2023 season end with a 3-0 loss to Section VI champion, Ellicottville in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class D Far West Regional.
On Friday night, Jarrett Vosburg’s squad made sure to write a different tale.
Isaiah Sisson scored twice, and Jared Boon registered a shutout as Fillmore (20-1-0) clinched a spot in the state semifinals with a 3-0 win over Section VI champion, Maple Grove (8-7-0).
“Since we were here and lost two years ago, it’s been our driving force,” Vosburg said. “We’ve used that as motivation and fuel. We know we’re an incredibly fortunate bunch.”
To complete that goal, the Eagles had to use the elements as an ally.
With a small craft advisory on Lake Erie 10 miles away and persistent showers creating a slick playing surface, Fillmore scored early going into the wind and put the game away in the second half.
“We scored in the first five, but the second just wouldn’t go,” the fourth-year coach said. “The wind was definitely a factor in the first half. Having that at our back in the second half helped.”
Sisson needed less than two minutes to give Fillmore all the offense required for the win.
The senior midfielder gained possession inside the Maple Grove 18-yard box along the right side and finished far post for the early lead.
“I got through a couple guys after receiving a pass,” he said. “I saw the goalie shifting off his line and just put it right where I wanted it.”
The Eagles worked for seven corner kicks in the first 40 minutes.
With 31:53 remaining in regulation, Sisson completed his brace on the Eagles’ 11th opportunity from a corner flag.
Ezra Knapp put the game out of reach with 4:05 left in the contest.
Fillmore finished with 14 corner kicks on the night without conceding a similar opportunity for its counterparts.
Other than a free kick below the 18 with 23 minutes remaining in the game, the Eagles did not allow the Red Dragons possession inside the goal box for the first 24 minutes of the second half.
“A lot of that was the wind, some of it was composure,” Vosburg said. “The wind was a 20-yard factor. We played a little tight in the first half. It’s tough, sometimes, being the favorite. Everybody expects you to come out and take the game.”
Boon made four saves for the shutout, the 13th clean sheet of the season.
Sisson leads Fillmore with 33 goals this season.
Fillmore is 6-1-0 all-time in state quarterfinals including in 2022 when the Eagles won the state title.
Fillmore will play either Edmeston (IV) or Colton-Pierrepont (X) in the semifinals. That game is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. kickoff next Saturday (11/15) at Middletown High School.
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