F-M, ESM head to final four

Three special high school soccer teams found themselves with chances last Saturday to advance to the state final four, and two would get there.
It included the doubleheader at Herkimer Community College where, in Class AA, teams from Fayetteville-Manlius and Shenendehowa squared off, with the boys Hornets able to advance with a tense 3-2 victory over the Plainsmen.
Just 7:35 into the game, Nino Pagano put in his 41st goal of the season, using a slide tackle to gain possession and then burying a shot past Shen goalie Noah Flint inside the corner of the net.
Flint got hurt stopping another Pagano shot near the midway point of the half, forcing the Plainsmen to turn to its backup, Andrew Wilson. Moments later, Shen tied it 1-1, Mark Makhatadze converting off a corner kick.
But F-M went back in front in the 29th minute, Riley Warren-Nichols earning the goal, and it would stay in front the rest of the half.
Early in the second half, the Plainsmen again pulled even, Makhatadze providing a perfect cross that Lochlain Clarke put in the net. That 2-2 tie lasted less than a minute. The Hornets earned a corner kick that Pagano sent to the middle and Warren-Nichols finished off at the far post. Given that it had already won twice, it wasn’t surprising to see Shen apply heavy pressure the rest of the way, forcing F-M into a continual defensive posture. But no matter how many shots the Plainsmen took, a weary Hornets back line somehow kept it together and preserved the slim margin all the way to the final horn.
When the F-M girls took its turn against Shen, it fell behind 10:13 into the game as Georgia Greene scored for the Plainsmen.
Barely four minutes later, it was 1-1, Lauren Clark continuing her post-season hot streak as she scored off another good pass from Morgan Goodman.
They would stay that way the rest of the half and much of the second half, too, with both defenses able to turn back whatever was thrown at them.
But with 6:40 left in regulation, a long shot by Greene found its way to the F-M net, and it proved the game-winner, Shen prevailing 2-1 to end the Hornets’ state title dreams.
Of the three, only the East Syracuse Minoa boys had to win two regional games – but the Spartans did so, continuing a win streak that dated back to mid-September.
In the first regional game played last Wednesday at F-M, the Spartans met Section II champion Averill Park and, by scoring twice in the first half, took command on the way to a 2-0 victory.
It took less than 12 minutes for ESM to get on the board, and it converted again late in the half. Joel Alvarez assisted on both scoring plays as Nic Paduano and Behudin Malkic were responsible for the goals.
The Spartans’ defense did the rest, limiting Averill Park to a handful of chances the rest of the way even as it could not add to its ultimate winning margin. Hamdija Causevic stopped all six shots he faced.
Now ESM traveled to Potsdam High School to face Section X’s Massena in Saturday’s regional final, where a fast start and emphatic finish produced a 4-1 victory over the Red Raiders.
Todd Durantini quickly put the Spartans in front in the 10th minute, and Alvarez assisted when Zach Shufelt found the net five minutes later.
Massena was able to cut the margin to 2-1 by halftime, but ESM got away when Evan deBerjeois scored near the midway point of the second half, assisted by Nicolino Paduano, and Alvarez got a second assist on Jackson Tedesco’s goal with 14 minutes to play.
Now it’s off to Middletown, where this Saturday ESM and F-M both must face the Long Island champions in the state semifinals. The winners move on to Sunday’s title games.