Seven years since it last finished atop the Section III Class AA ranks, the Cicero-North Syracuse boys soccer team badly wanted to get there again.
But Utica Proctor, who never had even played in a sectional final before, denied the Northstars that ultimate prize, beating them 3-1 in Monday night’s championship game at Morrisville State College.
Proctor’s run to to the title was extra-special. From a no. 5 seed, the Raiders came from behind to beat four-time defending champion Baldwinsville 2-1 in the quarterfinals on Oct. 25, and then rallied again in the semifinals to oust top seed Liverpool by that same margin in the semifinals last Thursday night.
Now C-NS would get its turn. Way back on Sept. 1, the Northstars beat the Raiders 2-1 in the season opener, perhaps not imagining that, more than two months later, it would see Proctor again.
What it saw, from the opening kickoff of this title-game rematch, was a Proctor team that passed the ball well and utilized its team speed to constantly make runs into the Northstars’ end.
For a while, C-NS was able to resist all these charges and keep it 0-0. But in the 17th minute, when a free kick from the left side could not get cleared out, Proctor’s Jose Fuigeroa, from 20 yards out, drilled a low shot past goalie Jon Runge and inside the right post.
It remained 1-0 until halftime. Twice, the Northstars made good runs at the Raiders’ net, but the aggressive work of Proctor goalie Refik Begic prevented a clean shot.
That continued early in the second half. Less than four minutes into the half, Bryan Sibble charged from the left side, ready to make a pass to the middle for a tying shot, but again Begic caught the ball just in time.
Proctor did not sit on its lead, continuing to push and force C-NS into fouls, adding to the Northstars’ frustration. In the 63rd minute, the Raiders got some insurance when it put together another fast break that Kevin Gordon finished off with a goal that made it 2-0.
Said Begic fed Mohomed Kuwa, who scored with 11:04 left to make it 3-0. Finally, the Northstars got an attack going, as Zach Briggs converted with 8:07 left, and Sibble had a chance to move his side within one two minutes later, but Refik Begic made a point-blank stop.
It ended there, as Proctor’s fans did an “Ole Ole” chant and celebrated a berth in Saturday’s regional final against Bethlehem, the Section II champions. C-NS ended its season with a 15-4 record.
