Fairport boys soccer wins sectional title in overtime, Spencerport win with shutout performance
Class AAA Championship: (1) Fairport 3, (2) McQuaid 2 (2 OT)
The Class AAA boys soccer championship game was billed as a good one and it lived up to the hype. Fairport entered as the top-ranked team in the state with an unbeaten record. McQuaid had just one loss on the season and was ranked third.
After two comebacks in the second half to force overtime, Sean Griffin netted the game-winning goal less than two minutes away from PKs to give Fairport their second straight sectional title.
Fairport got on the board just over eight minutes into the game. Zachary Buys booted one upfield which Ryan Mathis chased down and fired in for a 1-0 lead.
The game remained that way into the second half. With just 17 minutes left in the contest, McQuaid's Brady Vieira sent a corner kick into the box. Lucas Christiano got a touch on it and Sammy Maaraba poked it in to tie things up at one.
Just three minutes later, McQuaid earned another corner kick. Leonardo sent it in to the head of Gianni Sansone. It was stopped, but Maaraba was there for the rebound to give McQuaid a 2-1 lead.
With just four minutes left to play, Fairport was awarded a free kick just outside the box. Mathis made the most of the golden opportunity and curled in a beautiful kick to tie the game at two and send it to overtime.
Chances were hard to come by in the first overtime as well as most of the second. But with less than two minutes away from PKs, Fairport's Brock Stephany sent up a ball high up the right side of the field. Griffin got underneath it, corralled it, and from a bad angle tucked it inside the near post for the game-winning goal.
Fairport (13-0-3) will play Lancaster from Section VI in the Far West Regionals on Saturday, November 9th at Geneseo High School. The two teams met in the regional round last year with Lancaster winning 1-0.
Class AA Championship: (4) Spencerport 2, (7) Brighton 0
The Rangers scored less than one minute into the game and never relinquished their lead to win their second sectional title in the last three years.
Spencerport earned an early corner and Michael Tette sent a kick into the box. It avoided players from both teams and made its way to Jaden Allen who buried it for a 1-0 lead.
That remained the score for nearly 70 minutes when Spencerport finally got an insurance goal with ten minutes to play. Juan Green Jordan attempted to fight off two defenders and lost the ball, but the ball went right to his teammate Daniel Weiss. He rocketed the ball into the net for the 2-0 margin where the game would end up.
The Rangers played strong defense throughout the night and Brighton had few strong scoring opportunities.
Spencerport (13-6) allowed just one goal in their four sectional games. Last year, they lost to Churchville-Chili in the title game after winning a brick in 2022.
The Rangers will play Clarence from Buffalo's Section VI on Saturday, November 9th at Geneseo High School in the Far West Regionals.
Brighton's season ends with a 10-7-2 record.
