BEEKMANTOWN — When it comes to the Chazy boys’ soccer team, it has been a case of reloading mostly every season.
But this year, it was more of a rebuild after what was lost from last year’s NYSPHSAA Class D co-championship team. But the outcome of this year’s Section VII tournament was yet another repeat performance.
Landon Duprey and Madox Tyndall tallied goals as the second-seeded Eagles recorded a 2-0 victory over top-seeded Keene in the finals on Saturday, marking Chazy’s eighth-consecutive Class D sectional title.
“This was a very different type of year for us,” Chazy coach Rob McAuliffe said. “We had to beat two very good teams in Schroon Lake/Newcomb and Keene to win it, and today was a special win.
“We had so many freshmen and sophomores play big roles for us, and I believe the two teams we beat to win the sectionals this year (in the semifinals and finals) were the two best teams we’ve had to play in my coaching career.”
Duprey gave the Eagles, who avenged an early-season loss to the Beavers, the lead at 16:27 of the first half, with the assist going to Pryce Parker.
Tyndall then provided Chazy with an insurance goal when he scored at 14:33 of the second half following a Jacoby Weeden corner kick.
“After we scored to make it 2-0, we played smart and limited their chances,” McAuliffe said.
“Two minutes before the end of the half, there was a 50-50 ball and I got kicked in the foot,” Tyndall said. “I wish I would have been feeling better in the second half, but I was able to score a goal.
“We scored two good goals in the game.”
The Eagles (16-2-1) outshot the Beavers, 12-4, and Henry Kapp recorded the shutout with four saves. Peter Robjent stopped 10 shots for Keene.
Schroon Lake/Newcomb and Keene both scored over 100 goals on the season and Chazy limited the two to just a combined one goal in the sectionals — that being a penalty kick in the 2-1 semifinal win over Schroon Lake/Newcomb.
Keene has a number of dangerous scoring threats, led by Vann Morrelli and Hyler Isham. The Eagles, however, were up to the task defensively.
“I was very pleased with how we played in the back as a team,” McAuliffe said. “We defensed them very well.
“We had a mix of older and younger guys in the back with Henry Kapp, Owen Kapp, Novak Jarus, Ashton Hoffnagle and Madox Tyndall, and they played a great game.”
Jarus, a senior who played outside midfield last season, was moved to right back this year.
“Some people were moved back to defense to help out with what we lost off last year’s team,” he said. “We still had confidence we would score goals and it took a couple of games for us to figure it out. We were still able to score a lot of goals.
“It’s rewarding. Coach McAuliffe knows how to put the players in the right positions and how to make it work. and we were able to make it happen again.”
It was more of the same with the senior Tyndall, who was moved from striker to stopper early in the season.
“Ironically, I was moved to stopper after the Keene game,” he said. “I knew we were kind of rebuilding, but we knew as a team what we needed to do to win.
“I’m glad to win the sectionals as a senior — it means more practices and games for me and to be with my teammates. Our team effort has been great.”
Both Tyndall and Jarus have been a part of four sectional champion teams in their four years on the varsity.
The Eagles play either Chateaugay or Heuvelton from Section X on Saturday at SUNY Plattsburgh in the NYSPHSAA Class D quarterfinals.
“It took us a while to get going this year,” McAuliffe said. “We had to find the right combinations. Halfway through the season, I felt we had the right people in the right place.”
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Chazy 2, Keene 0
CCRS 1 1 — 2
KCS 0 0 — 0
First half- 1, CCRS, Duprey (Parker), 16:27.
Second half- 2, CCRS, Tyndall (Weeden), 14:33.
Shots on goal- CCRS, 12-4.
Saves- Robjent, KCS, 10. H. Kapp, CCRS, 4.