Nick Rogers did not really get a good piece of Brandon Carnovale’s corner kick late in the first overtime of Tuesday night’s Section III Class AA boys soccer final — but he did enough to take Baldwinsville to a place it has never gone before.
By earning the “golden goal”, Rogers helped the Bees defeat Fayetteville-Manlius 1-0 at West Genesee High School for its first-ever sectional championship.
After years of producing good, contending teams, then watching schools like F-M, Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse snag the crown, B’ville finally is on top.
“I can’t even describe it,” said head coach Tim Scheemaker in the moments after the battle ended. “I felt we had the best team all season, and the kids really got along and clicked on the field to make it happen.”
This was never more true than in the winning sequence of events, which came at the end of a cold, windy and wet evening where both teams struggled to get many great scoring chances.
It all started when senior midfielder Nate Bourdeau burst up the middle with the ball and charged to the net, forcing an F-M defender to trip him and create a free-kick situation from 25 yards out. Bourdeau’s free kick was tipped by the Hornets’ defensive wall just wide, forcing a corner kick from the left side.
Carnovale took it and floated the ball up into the stiff wind. Somewhere in the mix of players in front, Rogers flicked it just enough so that it changed direction, beat Hornets goalkeeper Alex Cameron-Carter, and fit just inside the top right corner of the net.
Scheemaker said that, given the way his team had kept control of the ball most of the night, it was just a question of time before they converted.
“We were getting so much possession,” he said. “We were going to get something.”
In fact, B’ville “got something” in the game’s opening when a throw-in and a flick to the middle resulted in Mike Carroll heading the ball into the net. However, B’ville was whistled for an illegal throw and the goal was negated.
Working with the gusty wind at its back, the Bees kept the Hornets on the defensive much of the first half, yet appeared to suffer a big blow when senior defender Colin Hack had to go to the sidelines with a knee injury.
Yet fellow senior Brian Gildemeyer, a midfielder most of the time, stepped in, and the back line didn’t suffer one bit. Gildemeyer used his speed and skill to help Adam Jones, Jamie Parmele and Ryan Wells cut down most F-M scoring chances.
Only in the 25th minute did the Hornets get anything substantive, but Ben Hootnick’s header from the middle when right to P.J. Goodwin, who grabbed it.
Even though the Bees had to play into that same wind in the second half, F-M could not take much advantage, and instead remained in defensive mode. Cameron-Carter kept the game 0-0 in the 64th minute by diving to stop Hobie Ramin’s point-blank shot.
Through it all, B’ville stayed patient and watched as the battle went into sudden-death overtime. It took less than eight minutes for Rogers to end it.
B’ville will now play Section II champion Niskayuna Saturday in the Class AA regional final at Colonie High School near Albany. Win there, and the Bees will advance to the state final four at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta.
