Having endured a year’s worth of tension (two overtime games, one penalty-kick shootout) in an eight-day stretch to win the Section III Class A championship, the East Syracuse-Minoa boys soccer team had no intention of stopping there as it ventured into state tournament play.
Indeed, the Spartans kept on going, starting with Wednesday’s Class A regional opener against Section II champion Mohonasen at Colonie High School in suburban Albany.
For once, ESM did not need to go beyond regulation to pull through, gaining a lead by the second half and hanging on to beat the Mighty Warriors 2-1.
As it has done throughout the post-season, the Spartans’ defense, anchored by Alem Hozo, Jarrett Temple, Irfan Tihic and Emir Avdakovic, clamped down on Mohonasen in the early going, which helped the Spartans patiently build up its attack.
Midway through the first half, ESM earned a corner kick. Jeremy Barbuto, whose OT goal beat Fulton in the sectional final, fed to the middle, and Tihic headed it home.
It stayed 1-0 through halftime. Then, in the 55th minute, the Spartans doubled its margin when Senid Hakic, off a feed from Chris Schiavone, hit a 35-yard shot that careened off a Mighty Warrior defender into the net.
That goal was needed because, in the homestretch, Mohonasen waged an all-out assault to try and pull even, converting on a penalty kick with nine minutes left to reduce the margin to one. However, the defense held up and Casey Sullivan, who finished with 10 saves, made a series of point-blanks stop to prevent yet another trip to OT.
Instead, the Spartans will return close to home to face Massena (Section X) in Saturday’s regional final at Christian Brothers Academy’s Alibrandi Stadium, which starts at noon.
