By PAUL GOTHAM
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — It was a matter of turning a weakness into a strength.
Jarrett Vosburg knew if the Fillmore boys’ soccer team was to reach its potential, the Eagles needed to improve their conversion rate on set pieces.
That work paid dividends Sunday morning at Middletown High School.
Avery Potter connected on the equalizer with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, and Fillmore (21-1-1) went on to earn a share of the NYSPHSAA Class D title after playing to a 4-4 draw with reigning state champion Hamilton (21-2-1) of Section III.
That Potter’s goal was the result of a corner kick opportunity was not by coincidence.
“I teared up a little bit after that fourth goal,” Vosburg said. “To see these guys take what you tell them to do and put it into action, to scratch and claw, it made me so proud of them.”
Potter’s marker was the third time in the game that Fillmore took advantage of a corner kick.
“It was a point of emphasis,” Vosburg said of the execution on the plays. “Set pieces are something you can improve on. They are a great team (Hamilton), obviously very skilled in the center. We knew we were going to have to capitalize on those to make it happen.”
Brayden Walton started the sequence from the right flag. He played an outswing service into middle of the box. Hamilton’s Gavin Hames was able to get a foot on the ball in the middle of traffic. Potter stepped in front of the clearing attempt and one-timed a right-footed shot that he tucked under the bar for his third goal of the season.
“Everybody was just screaming to pack the box,” Potter said. “I just figured I would be up farther and on the backside, so I could clean up. I just expected the ball to be there I guess.”
Potter came from outside the 18-yard box and didn’t hesitate when given the chance.
“I knew it was going in,” the sophomore defender said. “I saw the keeper in the air, and he wasn’t near it. I knew it wasn’t going over the cross bar.”
Levi Russell scored Fillmore’s first two goals directly off corner kicks.
“Earlier in the season, I was more of the garbage man,” Russell said of his role on corner kicks. “If the ball went over everyone then I would just play it back in as a cross, but coach thought I wasn’t doing anything because I wasn’t getting the ball. He decided to put me at the 6.”
Walton again delivered the corner kicks. Russell struck both in the air. His first goal tied the game at one with 29:13 left in the first half. His second gave Fillmore the lead in the 38th minute.
“We’ve been pushing it really hard in practice lately,” Russell said of the effort on corner kicks. “We made some changes that helped a lot.”
On the day, the Eagles converted on three of six corner kick opportunities.
“We have three plays. One is a short corner that we didn’t use much this game. We have another where we all pack the 6 and look to line drive the ball in the there. Then we have our main one. Our strikers and midfielders have certain runs across the goal and around the box.”
Russell was back post on his two goals.
“In our regional game, I had an assist on a corner. Today, I had the two goals.”
Walton gave Fillmore a 3-1 lead less than four minutes into the second half.
Hamilton stormed back. Gavin Oney and Hames both found the back of the net to level the match. When Thomas Roy scored on a rebound with 14:12 left in the contest, the Emerald Knights had a 4-3 lead.
Potter connected with 1:47 left in regulation.
State titles games are not decided on penalty kicks, and the two teams were declared co-champions after the completion of two 15-minute overtime periods.
“It feels great,” said Russell, also a sophomore. “I thought we were underdogs in this game. We just had to fight harder, and we did.”
The state championship was the second in four years for Fillmore, the only two such titles in program history. The first, in 2022, came at the culmination of Vosburg’s first year as head coach.
“That’s really not me,” said Vosburg a former player in the program. “Jamie (longtime former head coach Jamie Mullen) and ‘Whit’ (Mike Witkowski) have built this program from the ground up. Obviously, I’ve been part of things for nine years.
Fillmore lost Mount Academy (IX) in the 2021 championship game. This weekend was the Eagles eighth trip to the state final four.
“We have something special at Fillmore in terms of community support, family support and kids who want to be pushed. Athletes win games, not coaches. I’m so proud of these guys and all that they have brought to this community.
“After the first one, I said this is a win for the community, for decades of Fillmore boys’ soccer players who have committed to this program to make it a special family and a culture that wants to be excellent. I’m so proud of them for bringing home another one.”
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