GOSHEN — An amazing season for the Chazy boys’ soccer team ended with its 10th NYSPHSAA Class D championship on Saturday.
The Eagles battled Section III’s Poland to a 2-all tie through 80 minutes of regulation and two 15-minute overtime stanzas before the two teams were declared state co-champions.
Penalty kicks are held if the two teams remain tied through the two overtimes to see who moves on in state play right up until the state championship game.
“I can’t be more proud of the team,” Chazy coach Rob McAuliffe said. “I know I also speak for our school and community. The team represented our community so well.
“We’ve had some tough times this season and they are deserving of being state champions. This is certainly one of the closest-knit teams I have coached here and they play for one another.”
The 10 state championships are the most all-time for any boys’ soccer team in the state. Pittsford Mendon is next with eight.
Also McAuliffe now owns 10 state titles as coach. Next are three coaches with six each to their credit.
“Obviously, we wanted to win the state title outright,” senior forward Dylan McAfee said. “But it still means a real lot to the team, especially to the seniors like myself.
“Also, with everything we had going on. But we were able to rally as a team to get this done.”
“It means a lot,” senior defender Evan Dwyer added. “I was called up to the varsity late in my sophomore year like two of our players were this season.
“It would have been nice to win the state championship singularly for our team, but this has been a goal of mine to win a state title since I’ve been on the varsity.”
Saturday’s game didn’t start out well for the Eagles (19-0-2).
Poland leading scorer Carter Cookinham gave the Tornadoes (16-3-1) the lead on a penalty kick just 3:55 into the game.
Chazy, however, quickly answered when Isaac Merrill crossed the ball to McAfee, who headed it into the net at the 5:15 mark.
Then midway though the first half, McAfee sent a thru ball to Pryce Parker, who was able to get to the ball just before Poland keeper Noah Lamphere. Parker then slipped it into the net at 17:38 to make it 2-1.
Lamphere, who was a standout in net for Poland, stopped a Chazy penalty kick early on in the second half to keep it a 2-1 game.
Then, with 9:07 left in regulation, a loose ball in front of the Chazy net resulted in Daeton Jones’ game-tying goal.
The game went into overtime and McAfee, who finished a phenomenal season with 36 goals, 14 assists and 86 points after being moved from midfield to forward this season, nearly won it on two occasions.
The first came in the first overtime when his low shot to the left corner was saved by a diving Lamphere. Then in the second overtime, McAfee made a run down the right side and sent a hard shot off the crossbar.
“The first one I hit where I wanted it to go, but their goalie made an amazing save,” McAfee said.
“The second hit the bottom of the crossbar, came down and their goalie tipped it away. That’s one I wish I had back.”
Chazy goalie Zamir Foster finished with 10 saves, including one crucial stop from point-blank range, and was a standout in both Eagles’ games in the Final Four.
“Poland played well defensively and No. 12 (Cookinham) up front gave us some trouble,” Dwyer said.
“They were physical and we had to dig deep,” McAfee added.
“Poland played well defensively and they are well coached,” McAuliffe said. “I thought we were the better team, but we played two very good teams down here.”
Chazy ended up going unbeaten this season in 21 games after losing its entire starting front line to graduation from a year ago.
“It took us a little longer to hit our stride this season — maybe five or six games,” McAuliffe said. “But we played well defensively and started to score some goals.
“I had confidence in our seniors. They have given so much to our program.”
McAfee, Dwyer, Merrill and Foster are the four senior starters on this year’s team that also started four freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors on the weekend.
“I felt as seniors we were able to step up and do a good job with leadership,” said Dwyer.
In Friday’s Final Four semifinals, the Section VII-champion Eagles played very well and defeated Section II winner Loudonville Christian, 3-1, to advance to the Class D state title game.
Freshman Jack Rovers, a late-season call-up to the varsity, scored his first varsity goal after Parker hit the crossbar with a shot to open the scoring.
Madox Tyndall made it 2-0 on a header off a Landon Duprey corner kick late in the first half and McAfee made it 3-0 early in the second half off a great individual effort.
Foster posted nine saves in the Chazy nets and allowed only a second-half goal to Loudonville Christian’s Ben Hoffman.
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Class D championship
Chazy 2, Poland 2, 2 Ots
CCRS 2 0 0 0 — 2
PHS 1 1 0 0 — 2
First half- 1, Pol, Cookinham pk, 3:55. 2, CCRS, McAfee (Merrill), 5:15. 3, CCRS, Parker (McAfee), 17:38.
Second half- 4, Pol, D. Jones, 30:53.
Shots on goal- Poland 11, Chazy 9.
Saves- Foster, CCRS, 10. Lamphere, Pol, 6.
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Class D semifinal
Chazy 3, Loudonville Christian 1
CCRS 2 1 — 3
LCHS 0 1 — 1
First half- 1, CCRS, Rovers (Parker), 27:41. 2, CCRS, Tyndall (Duprey), 36:10.
Second half- 3, CCRS, McAfee, 3:17. 4, LC, Hoffman, 21:51.
Shots on goal- Chazy 14, Loudonville Christian 10.
Saves- Foster, CCRS, 9. Deeb, LC, 10.