By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Earlier in the day, two of the top three seeds in Section V Class AA Girls’ Soccer lost.
Combine that with the prospect of having to play a crosstown rival, and the possibility of distraction was high Saturday night as No. Webster Thomas hosted No. 5 Webster Schroeder.
Scott Brown’s Thomas Titans used the extenuating circumstances to their benefit.
Emily Esders netted a pair of first-half goals, and Thomas (13-3-1) advanced to the AA semifinals with a 2-0 win.
“They were they were dialed in right from the beginning,” Brown said of his squad. “I was really pleased with their intensity.”
Cordelia Dargout assisted on the first goal from Esders. Maggy Auinger set up the second strike.
Esders now has 15 goals on the season.
“She’s been fantastic all year long,” Brown said of the junior wing. “We’ve got multiple people who can put the ball in the net, so if they key on one person, you know, then we’re gonna open up and find someone else through. And we’re pretty unselfish at times.”
Also on Saturday, top-seeded and previously unbeaten Aquinas, ranked No. 2 in the state, fell to reigning sectional co-champ, Churchville-Chili, 2-0.
Despite Haley Drake scoring four times, No. 3 Greece Athena dropped a 5-4 decision in overtime to No. 6 Brighton.
Those results provided a incentive for Brown’s squad.
“They basically knew if we had won, we’d have a home game,” he said. “So that was it. They’re like, okay, now we got motivation. We get a home game for semis.”
The Titans will face Churchville in the next round. The two teams met twice during the season with Thomas taking both decisions by scores of 4-0 and 2-0.
“We know how they will play. And they know how we play. So, yeah, it’ll be fun.”
Brighton will travel to play Spencerport. That game is also on Wednesday.
Seraphina Lippa made four saves for the shutout. The Titans’ second straight clean sheet in the postseason.
Leave a Reply