BOYS SOCCER FAR WEST REGIONALS
Kenmore East, East Aurora reach boys soccer final four
Victories cap weekend to remember for teams of Western New York
Rochester has been known as “Soccer Town USA” for years because of the passionate support showered upon its professional and scholastic teams by its fans.
But for at least one scholastic season, Section V doesn’t own the exclusive rights to that moniker.
That’s because the Kenmore East and East Aurora boys soccer teams got the better of their Rochester-area counterparts Saturday at Amherst High School’s Dimp Wagner Field to join Class AA champ Clarence in the state semifinals next Saturday in Oneonta.
Kenmore East, a team that began the season unranked among the large schools in Western New York, can no longer play the lack-of-respect card, as the Bulldogs reached the state semifinals for the first time since 2000 by holding off Honeoye Falls-Lima, 2-1, in the Class A Far West Regional.
Seniors Cody Rouse and Phil Pinzone scored for Kenmore East (17-2-3), while goalie James Quinn made four of his five saves in the second half to snuff out a late rally by HF-L (16-4-2).
“No words right now [can describe the feeling],” said Pinzone, whose goal six minutes into the second half made it 2-0. “I’ve been dreaming about this [for years].”
East Aurora (22-0) remained perfect as the Blue Devils reached their first final four with a 1-0 win over Bath-Haverling in Class B. Barry Hunt scored perhaps the biggest goal in EA history off a transition rush late in the first half with the Blue Devils going against the wind.
“You need every piece of luck [to reach the semifinals],” East Aurora coach Kevin Beale said. “You’ve got to appreciate that there are only four Class B schools left. Our kids have done something that not too many Section VI teams have done.”
In Class D, Wheatland-Chili blanked Maple Grove, 3-0.
An estimated 1,200 attended the three games at Dimp Wagner Field. Most of them watched East Aurora and Kenmore East stand tall as Section VI got three of its five champions into the state semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Newfane (Class B), Holland (Class C) and Panama (Class D) reached the semifinals in 2006.
“I think it’s a big step for the Buffalo area in soccer,” Kenmore East coach Rolfe Freidenberg said.
It’s a huge step for the Bulldogs, who have won three of the last four Section VI Class A titles. Yet, earning respect was the topic of discussion during Saturday’s pregame chat.
“In the locker room we talked about knowing how good of a team we are,” Freidenberg said. “Everyone thinks Rochester is usually a stronger section. A lot of guys are intimidated to play against teams from Rochester, but we just reinforced we’re a good team, go out have some fun and play.”
Kenmore East did for about 46 minutes before surviving the final 44.
Tyler Burgasser drilled a shot from point-blank range off the crossbar with 5:30 left. About 13 minutes earlier, he had a glorious chance to forge a 2-2 tie off a strong rush that Quinn denied with a sprawling save.
“He was fearless. He always does that,” said Pinzone of Quinn’s save.
The last time East Aurora had a legitimate chance of reaching the semifinals, it lost via penalty kicks in 2000 to Aquinas.
But this edition of the Blue Devils prefers to avoid shootouts. They like scoring early and protecting the lead.
That proved to be the winning formula again as Hunt scored his 25th of the season with 15:29 left in the first half after the Blue Devils’ quickly cleared a corner-kick chance toward midfield.
Sophomore defender Frank Moynihan helped senior goalie Dan Coulter (five saves) preserve the lead late in the first half when he cleared away a Justin Sherwood header off a corner before it crossed the goal line.
While Moynihan made the most obvious defensive play of the game, senior sweeper Ben Kolich used his speed to prevent Bath’s forwards from using their quickness to create any offense as the Rams lost in the Far West Regionals for the second year in a row.
“He’s probably the best player we’ve seen all year,” Bath coach Matt Hill said of Kolich.
Maple Grove (18-2-1) crafted a 19- game unbeaten streak in reaching its first regional. But the football school ran into a clear soccer school that led, 2-0, at halftime and cruised into the semis for the first time since 1993. Spencer McCarthy scored twice, while Garhett Varin (two assists) also scored for Wheatland-Chili (19-3), which lost in regionals two years ago to Holland.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments