One team is looking to win a second straight state title. The other is making its second trip to the state final four in three years. Fairport and Guilderland of Section II will in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class AAA semifinals on Saturday. Here’s the breakdown:
CLASS AAA
FAIRPORT RED RAIDERS
(17-0-0 / Monroe County Division I)
vs.
GUILDERLAND FLYING DUTCHMEN
(12-5-3 / Section 2 Suburban Council Blue)
Middletown HS, Saturday, Nov. 15, 3:45 p.m.
How they arrived here: Fairport (No. 1 NYSSWA) automatically advanced to the semifinals thanks to a first-round bye and pulled out a 2-1 victory over Rush-Henrietta to advance to the championship. The Red Raiders defeated No. 3 McQuaid Jesuit 4-1 in the finals for the third time in a row to clinch a spot in the regional. In the regional, Fairport pulled out a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Lancaster to reach the semifinals.
Guilderland (No. 4 NYSSWA) began its postseason with a 1-0 overtime win over Colonie in the Section 2 quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the Flying Dutchmen took down top-seeded Shaker in penalty kicks to advance to the final against Shenendehowa. Again, Guilderland advanced on penalty kicks to move on to the regional where they took down Elmira 2-1 in double-OT.
Total goals scored: Fairport (53), Guilderland (51)
Total goals allowed: Fairport (8), Guilderland (23)
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM STEVEN TWARDZIK.
Trends: Fairport rolls into the championship on a 36-game unbeaten streak with the Red Raiders most recent loss coming on Nov. 4, 2023 when Fairport fell 1-0 to Lancaster in the Far West Regional. In the two years since, Fairport has outscored opponents 105-28. This season the Red Raiders have scored three goals or more on 10 different occasions and have allowed more than one in a game just once all year. After starting the year 0-3-3, Guilderland has gone 12-2-0, outscoring opponents 44-13 in this span. Each of their four playoff games have gone to overtime.
Players to watch for Fairport: Sean Griffin Sr. A (13 G, 7 A); Trevor Scoppa Jr. A (10 G, 6 A); Justin Burton Sr. A (9 G, 4 A); Francesco Maniscalco Jr. A (6 G, 1 A); Alex Grejda Sr. D (6 G, 1 A); Brock Stephany So. M (2 G, 8 A); Jackson Piacitelli Sr. M (3 G, 4 A); Tim Donner Sr. D (3 A); Preston Richards Sr. D (1 G); Andrew Kohl Sr. M/D (1 G, 3 A); Evan Furciniti Sr. G (36 saves, 4 GA).
Players to watch for Guilderland: Oscar Colbert Sr. Mid; Jackson Eberz Sr. F; Carem Moncur Jr. D (13 G/ 4 A); Ryan Neale Sr. Mid; Lochlan Rizzo So. Mid; Jack Wasserbach Jr. D.
Coaches: Bill Teasdale (Fairport), Mike Kinnally (Guilderland)
History 101: Fairport is 5-3 all-time in state semifinal games with wins in 2024, 2019, 2016, 2014 and 2013. The Red Raiders are looking for back-to-back state titles.
Section V is 17-12-4 all-time in the state tournament against schools from Section II. Fairport defeated Shaker (2-1) in last year’s Class AAA semifinal.
What’s at stake: A spot in the Class AAA NYS championship on Sunday against either Baldwinsville (III) or Commack (XI).
More history: Since the inception of the NYSPHSAA Boys’ Soccer Tournament in 1978, Section V sides have won 47 of the 204 titles (23 percent) contested. Of those, 35 have been outright. Pittsford Mendon leads the way with six such NYS titles followed by Red Creek (4) and Aquinas (4). Holley, Naples, Penfield and Pittsford Sutherland have all won two titles apiece with another 12 schools bringing home one outright state crown: Bath-Haverling, Bloomfield, Cardinal Mooney, Fillmore, Fairport Gates-Chili, Greece Arcadia, Greece Athena, Hilton, Jasper-Troupsburg, Marion, McQuaid Jesuit and Northstar Christian. Pittsford Mendon (3), Red Creek (2), Gates Chili, Greece Arcadia, Jasper-Troupsburg, Livonia, Marion, Penfield and Pittsford Sutherland have all shared at least one title.
Cornell University hosted the first NYS tournament that was competed at three classifications (A, B and C). Class D was added in 1980, AA in 2004 and AAA in 2023. Fairport took the AAA title in its second year in its existence. Two Section V teams (Penfield ’04 and McQuaid ’17) have won outright Class AA titles while Section V teams have combined to win 11 Class A championships, 14 Class B, 11 Class C and seven Class D titles.
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