It’s familiar to see the Hamilton boys soccer team playing for the Section III Class D championship. What’s not familiar is the opponent waiting for them.
A second-half surge carried the no. 2 seed Emerald Knights past no. 3 seed McGraw 2-0 in last Wednesday night’s Class D semifinals at Christian Brothers Academy’s Alibrandi Stadium near Syracuse.
This earned Hamilton a chance to win its third straight Class D title – but not against Poland, the long-time rival it met in the playoffs each of the last four years, beating the Tornadoes in the 2008 and 2009 title games.
Poland, the no. 1 seed for this year’s tournament, suffered a 3-2 defeat to no. 4 seed Cincinnatus in Wednesday’s semifinals, meaning it’s the Lions, led by Jake Stone (who had two goals against Poland), going up against the Emerald Knights.
Of course, Hamilton first had to get to the finals – and that meant beating a much-improved McGraw team that won just four games in 2008, but has quickly turned things around.
The Eagles kept the Emerald Knights off the board in the first half, and nearly went ahead in the 11th minute. Wyatt Buerkle’s pass found Mark Hitt, whose shot was headed inside the post before Kinnon Nolan-Finkel dove to make his best save of the night.
It was still 0-0 when, 1:03 into the second half, Devin Askew pounced on Sam Owens’ wayward shot inside the 18-yard box and beat McGraw goalie Austin Chambers to put Hamilton ahead 1-0.
From there, the Emerald Knights’ attack picked up as it sought more of a margin. More than anyone, Drew Thompson (injured earlier in the game) got aggressive, forcing McGraw’s defense to hone in on him.
And that attention led to Hamilton’s insurance goal in the 58th minute. Dan Kraynak passed to Thompson on the wing and, when two defenders moved in, Thompson passed it right back. Kraynak, now open, easily beat Chambers with his left foot.
That was all, as Nolan-Finkel’s four saves preserved the shutout and Hamilton got ready for its fateful meeting with Cincinnatus – and a chance to three-peat.
