By PAUL GOTHAM
PENFIELD — A goal late in the first half provided the fuel needed, and Penfield boys’ soccer, ranked No. 19 NYSSWA Class AAA, went on to defeat Hilton, 2-0 in Monroe County Division I action, Friday night.
Nate Heise converted on a second ball opportunity to snap a scoreless tie with :34 seconds remaining in the first half.
“To score right before halftime is a big momentum shift,” said Penfield head coach John Cotsonas. “So proud of them. Tonight they plugged away to kind of figure it out.”
The play started deep in the Hilton third with a free kick along the right side from Lucas Sokolowski. Hilton keeper Damian Wojtowicz turned away Davis Easton’s header attempt, but Camden Lucas managed to send the rebound toward the goal mouth where Heise redirected the ball from just outside the 6-yard box.
“He’s been on the varsity for three years,” Cotsonas said of Heise. “When you have guys with that experience, they kind of find the right way.”
HT: Hilton’s Damian Wojtowicz is there for the initial save off the Lucas Sokolowski free kick. Nate Heise takes advantage of a second-chance to give @PHSVarBSoccer a 1-nil lead heading into the break. pic.twitter.com/mf6bUnftLd
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 25, 2026
The goal came after 39 minutes in which the Patriots (6-0-2) carried much of the play, but their counterparts had the better of the scoring opportunities.
“We’re content with playing well and keeping possession and doing those things,” Cotsonas said. “When you do that for a long period of time, then they lull you into sleep. We had a conversation at halftime where we reminded them that they want us to pass, pass, pass, pass, overpass, and then hit us right away on the counter, so you have to watch out for that.”
Sokolowski doubled the advantage in the 57th minute.
“We got the second goal by pressing them a little bit up there, and then they misplayed a pass.”
The divisional rivals will meet again on October 13th.
“They’re always super well-coached, and we love to play these type of games,” Cotsonas said of Hilton. “Everybody knows what everybody does, that kind of stuff. So it’s up to the boys to kind of figure out the problem, and it took us a while to like solve the problem. That’s just another step in the ladder to where we want to go.”
Aidan Colangelo made five saves for the shutout – Penfield’s fourth clean sheet of the season.
The game was the Patriots fourth in eight days. Penfield will travel to Victor next Thursday for a 7 PM kickoff.
Hilton will play at Rush-Henrietta on Tuesday. A 4:45 PM start time is slated.
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