Though a large task for the Westhill boys soccer team was completed when it held off Skaneateles for the Section III Class B championship on Nov. 2, the bigger job still lay ahead.
Having come so close to reaching the state Class A final a year ago, the Warriors would need four victories – two in the regional round and two in the state final four at Middletown – to get all the way to the top.
As it turned out, the regional round had a nervous start Wednesday at Watertown High School when Westhill, still parked atop the state Class B rankings, took on Section X’s Canton and prevailed by a 1-0 margin.
Most times, a regional game against an opponent such as Canton provides a light hurdle, but at 13-2-2 and no. 8 in the state Canton did not fit that profile, and proved in on the field.
For a vast majority of the game the Golden Bears played effective defense, taking away the Warriors’ opportunities while generating its own chances against the Westhill back line.
Again, the Warriors’ defenders proved capable, claiming the team’s 12th overall shutout and limiting Canton to a single shot on net.
Thus, when Eric Holstein took a pass from Tim Cowin midway through the first half and, running toward the net, put home the go-ahead goal, it held up for the remaining hour.
A longer trip now loomed on Saturday, this time to Waterford High School northeast of Albany, to take on state no. 4-ranked Mechanicville, the Section II champions, in the regional final.
The Red Raiders, as it turned out, would not prove as resistant as Canton was, Westhill going in front early and then putting together a furious flurry early in the second half to get away and prevail 4-0.
Shutout no. 13 involved an attack spread around, and it didn’t take too long, either.
Barely 11 minutes into the game the Warriors took the lead for good on Cal Petrone’s goal, which turned out to be the only one of the first half. But Westhill was in no mood to keep this game tight.
Just past the six-minute mark of the second half Holstein put home his 20th goal of the season. Armed with a two-goal cushion, the Warriors then doubled it when Tom MacLachlan converted just 90 seconds later.
When Cowin converted in the 50th minute, Westhill had netted three goals in less than four minutes, allowing it to relax the rest of the way and cruise to yet another regional title.
All of this brings Westhill back to exactly where it was in 2023, two wins from a state championship and favored this time to get it. The Warriors face Section VI’s East Aurora next Saturday at 11 a.m. in the state semifinal, with the winner getting to the state title game at 10 a.m. the following morning against Rye Neck (Section I) or Carle Place (Section VIII).
