One side looks to capture its ninth all-time sectional brick and second in a row. The other side seeks its 15th sectional title and second in three years. Coming off equally dominant regular seasons in which a coin flip was needed to decide the No.1 seed, NYSSWA No. 4 Churchville-Chili and NYSSWA No. 8 Spencerport face off in a heavy weight battle for the Class AA crown. Here’s the breakdown:
No. 1 seed CHURCHVILLE-CHILI SAINTS
(15-1-2/Monroe County Division II)
vs.
No. 2 seed SPENCERPORT RANGERS
(15-1-2/ Monroe County Division II)
How they arrived here: Entering sectional as the No. 1 seed, Churchville-Chili took down no. 16 Victor 5-0 in the first round. In the quarters, Churchville-Chili survived a scare from No. 9 Webster Thomas 2-1 behind goals from Bryce Wolf and Callum Berg to advance to the semi-finals where they took on No. 4. Brighton. Wolf scored the lone goal as the Saints won 1-0 to advance to the finals. Spencerport was given the No. 2 seed for bracketing purposes and defeated No. 15 Irondequoit 2-0 in the first round. Spencerport then took down No. 7 Hilton 1-0 off a goal from Charlo Tomasso. In the semis, the Rangers defeated last season Class A champions No. 6 Pittsford Mendon 2-1 powered by goals from Adriano Sanfilippo and Michael Schmidt-Tieu-Truong to book their trip to the finals.
Total goals scored: Churchville-Chili (43), Spencerport (44)
Total goals allowed: Churchville-Chili (10), Spencerport (10)
Trends: Churchville-Chili enters the finals winners of five in a row, scoring 13 and allowing one goal in that stretch. The Saints have scored at least three goals on eight occasions with a high of seven vs Lockport (IV). Churchville-Chili has recorded eight shutouts and have only given up more than one goal once the entire season in a 4-2 win at Gates-Chili and have only failed to score in two games. Spencerport comes into the finals winners of nine in a row and undefeated in 15 consecutive games with their only loss occurring on September 5th. During their nine-game win streak, the Rangers have outscored their opponents 20-3. Spencerport has netted at least three goals on six occasions with a season high of seven vs Gates-Chili. Defensively, Spencerport has earned 10 shutouts and given up multiple goals on just two outings.
Regular season meetings: The two sides met in two highly anticipated matchups during the regular season. One of the games was suspended though, and the other ended in a scoreless draw at Churchville-Chili on October 1st.
Players to watch:
Churchville Chili: Lucas Cariola Sr. F (7 G, 10 A); Avery Ewell Sr. F (9 G, 9 A); Bryce Wolf Sr. F (11 G, 10 A); Gavin Carnevale Sr. D; Isaac Gale Sr. D; Noah Murano Sr. D; Logan Vujanovic Sr. D; Austin Allen Sr. G (10 shutouts, 9 GA)
Spencerport: Jayden Allen Sr. D; Luke Oakden So. M; Jackson Schneider Sr. M; Charlo Tomasso So. M; Michael Schmidt-Tieu-Truong Sr. D; Daniel Weiss Sr M; Dylan Cook Sr. G (12 shutouts
Coaches: John Mahoney (Churchville-Chili), Jody Wyant (Spenceport)
History 101: Churchville-Chili is seeking its ninth all-time title and back-to-back champoinships for the second time in its history. Spencerport is looking to win its 15th sectional title. Last season, the Saints took down No. 6 Penfield, a team that knocked off No. 2 Spencerport to get to the finals, 2-0 before advancing to the NYS Final Four. Churchville-Chili also won the Class AA brick in 2023, knocking off No. 1 Spencerport 3-2 in overtime. As for the Rangers they followed up that 2023 defeat by taking the Class AA crown the following year in 2024 as they defeated No. 7 Brighton 2-0 in the finals. In the semi-finals of that tournament, Spencerport avenged the previous years finals loss as they knocked off the Saints 4-2 in penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation and overtime. Spencerport also won the 2022 Class A title in a 2-1 victory over No. 4 Pittsford Sutherland.
What’s at stake: A win on Friday would make it three out of four titles for Churchville-Chili and three out the last five for Spencerport. The winner will advance to the NYS Far West Regional against the Section IV champion.
Kickoff is scheduled for Friday October 30, at 6:00 p.m. at Eastridge High School.
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