MIDDLETOWN – Now it was time for the Westhill boys soccer team to try and close out what it could not quite do a season ago.
Stopped in the state Class A semifinals in 2023, the Warriors were back at Middletown for the Class B portion of the state final four, sitting atop the state rankings as it had done for a month and determined to win twice more.
But it would only get one of those victories.
After prevailing 3-1 over East Aurora and getting past the semifinal round, in Sunday’s championship game against Long Island’s Carle Place Westhill fell behind early and, through a combination of great opposing defense and poor fortune, could not pull back even, taking a painful 1-0 defeat to the Frogs.
There was history between these two sides, Westhill having beaten Carle Place in the 2013 state final. More than a decade later they reunited for the same large stakes.
All season long the Warriors had played from ahead, but it dealt with a rare deficit at the 12-minute mark when Frogs forward Stratos Mehalakes converted, his 17-yard shot getting past Westhill goalie Tom Hunt.
Plenty of time remained to answer, and for the remainder of the first half the Warriors were steady on the defensive side yet found itself unable to erase Carle Place’s one-goal deficit.
Gradually as the second half wore on the pressure picked up, too.. Then, with less than 17 minutes left, a Westhill shot rammed off the crossbar and, in the Warriors players’ minds, crossed the goal line, but the tying goal was not given.
Still, Westhill’s chances improved when barely a minute later a Frogs player committed a foul pulling down a Westhill player leading to a red card.
Down to 10 players, Carle Place now had to defend against an all-out Warriors push down the stretch. Somehow, the Frogs did so, hanging on to deny Westhill its first state title since 2018 and third in school history.
East Aurora, from Section VI, was Westhill’s opponent a day earlier in in the state semifinals on Saturday afternoon, and it was suspenseful until Eric Holstein took over, the junior producing a hat trick.
It was East Aurora getting on the board first, something that Holstein answered before the first half concluded as the two sides went to the break even at 1-1.
Armed with the momentum, Westhill kept attacking and in the 53rd minute Holstein returned to the Blue Devils’ net, putting home the go-ahead goal. Seven minutes later, another attack led to Holstein converting for the third times.
Twice, Mason Franco was credited with assists, and the strong Westhill defense again made sure an opponent was mostly stifled, East Aurora held to four shots all afternoon.
This improved Westhill’s overall record to 20-1-1, but the 21st and most important victory would prove elusive. But with only a handful of seniors on the roster, another state championship push in 2025 would not surprise anyone.
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