SECTION IV BOYS SOCCER: OWEGO RALLIES PAST M-E TO CLAIM FOURTH STRAIGHT TITLE (24 PHOTOS) (2024-11-02)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
ENDICOTT — Owego kept its fans glued to the edge of their seats before rallying late in the Section IV Class A boys soccer championship to post a 2-1 victory over Maine-Endwell at Ty Cobb Stadium here Saturday.
It was the fourth consecutive sectional title for the top-ranked team in the state, which found itself trailing the Spartans, 1-0, heading into the 68th minute of play.
Owego coach Alessio De Michele couldn’t pick a favorite championship.
“They're all incredibly special in their own ways,” he said. “This one was the most suffered. I think this was the toughest game, so a real credit to M-E on it, but credit to our boys too. They didn't play their best game tonight, but they solved the problem. They figured out how to get back into the game. They never gave up on it, so that's what makes this one special. “
“They've all been really memorable ones because they've all been won with fantastic groups of kids and for the most part, playing really good soccer, so just a real moment to look back on. It doesn't feel real yet, but it will be. We're really proud of it.”
Sawyer Prentiss would score the equalizer with 12:41 remaining as he took a feed from Chris Ward, pushed past an M-E defender and fired a shot past goalkeeper Anthony Maione.
“The moment opened up for him and like he's a clinical striker and when he gets a strike on goal, there's no keeper that's going to save (against) us,” De Michele said of the Prentiss goal. “And he's a quick kid, so he used his pace to just race away and tuck it home. That's what he's good at.
“Soccer's a hard game to turn around with momentum, but the moment just fell to us and (it was) a great finish,” De Michele added. “It was a great combination between two of our juniors, so those are guys that are always ready to go between Chris Ward and Sawyer Prentiss.
“(I’m) really proud that that moment came because those are two great players who are going to be the future of it next year. You just have to keep trying to do the right things, keep scrapping. Like I said before, it wasn't our best game by any means. It wasn't going our way, but you have to be ready for when the moment does open up and we are able to take it.”
The River Hawks attempted to take the lead on a Zyir VanScoy shot in the 69th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar. However, Owego would get another chance in the 71st minute when Vasil Brich headed Owen Hallenbeck’s corner kick into the left side of the goal to put the unbeaten River Hawks ahead, 2-1.
“The set pieces are always going to be a deciding factor,” De Michele said. “It’s how we scored twice in the STAC semifinal so it's a thing we've been working on and it feels good when it comes off. So happy that it was Vasil, too, because no person on the planet earns it more than he does.”
With the lead in hand, the Owego defense turned back M-E at the other end on several occasions of the pitch to secure the title.
De Michele-coached teams now have two Class A titles to go with two at the Class B level. The River Hawks defeated Chenango Valley in overtime in 2021, then dominated Oneonta, 6-1, the next season. Restructuring to add a Class AAA division in 2023 moved Owego up to Class A and it defeated M-E, 7-3, despite coming into the postseason with seven losses.
This time, the River Hawks entered the tournament unbeaten at 17-0 with a 2-0 victory against M-E on Oct. 16 in their favor. The top-seeded Spartans hadn’t played since that game, but that didn’t stop them from holding Owego at bay for the first half.
The first 40 minutes were very evenly matched, but M-E would break the deadlock early in the second half when Parker Moses put a feed from Landon Stenta past Owego keeper Connor Kotski with 37:52 remaining in the game.
The Spartans looked like they would double their lead in the 57th minute after a battle between near the goal Moses and Owego’s Jaxson Belokur, but the score was waived off on a violation.
M-E finishes the season at 10-5 while Owego returns to Ty Cobb next Saturday for regional play. The River Hawks will face the sub-regional winner between the Section I champion and Section IX champ Our Lady of Lourdes.
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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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