East Aurora girls, Grover boys win soccer titles
The East Aurora girls and Grover Cleveland boys soccer teams won Section VI Class B sectional titles Friday night at Amherst's Dimp Wagner Field, but the similarities end there.
For the Blue Devils (16-2-2 overall), who downed Depew, 2-0, it was their third sectional title in a row, and fourth in the past five years. For the Presidents, who defeated City Honors, 3-1, in a historic meeting of two Buffalo public schools in a sectional final, it was their first-ever sectional crown.
"To these kids, this is totally the World Cup," Grover Cleveland coach Telly Forcucci said. "Not just for these kids, but for the entire city of Buffalo, this is pretty special."
The Presidents (15-1) got a pair of goals from junior Yakub Mohamed just over a minute apart to open a 3-0 lead in the first half. Mohamed's first goal came after a scramble in front of the net following a corner kick and seemed to deflate the Centaurs (12-8-1).
"It was just huge for them and hurt our attitude for a few minutes," said first-year City Honors coach Kurt Holme.
Grover also got a goal from its leading scorer, senior Adan Mukumbira, on a short breakaway in the first half. Mukumbira, who has 14 goals on the season, later set up Mohamed's second goal of the game with a long lead pass. Mohamed's 12th of the season made it 3-0 with 8:57 to play in the first half.
"It was very important to get up," Forcucci said. "We always play with the motto of the second half is 0-0, and it's a good thing we did."
That's because City Honors controlled play for large stretches in the final 40 minutes, but could only find the back of the net once against Grover keeper Alexander Toe, when junior Nick Albarran scored to make it 3-1 with 24:07 left.
"We actually weathered their storm," Forcucci said.
East Aurora continued its winning tradition thanks to a stifling defensive effort — and the continued big shots of senior midfielder Erin Holbrook. A game after scoring the only goal in a 1-0 sectional semifinal win over Akron, Holbrook again got the game-winner.
Her perfectly placed free kick from 40 yards out with 12:05 to play in the first half gave East Aurora a 1-0 lead. Holbrook now has a goal in each postseason game this season for the fourth-seeded Blue Devils (16-2-2).
"Our team is working together well, and when I've had a chance to put it in the net I've been able to," Holbrook said.
The Blue Devils picked up a huge insurance goal just 32 seconds into the second half when sophomore Emma Bracken scored. That allowed East Aurora to play its trademark defensive game, according to coach Tom Cashmore.
"We were up, 2-0, so even if we made an error that allowed a goal, we have that one-goal cushion," he said.
East Aurora, which hasn't allowed a goal in the postseason, effectively shadowed Depew senior Rachael Banasik, who finishes her career as the Wildcats' single-season (37) and career (116) goal leader.
"They always had help behind. Even if she [Banasik] beat one girl, there was always somebody else coming. They had girls flying to the ball all night," said Depew coach Larry Jones.
East Aurora next plays at 5 p.m. Friday against the Section V champion, at Dimp Wagner Field. Grover travels to Section V for the Far West Regionals next weekend at a site to be determined.
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