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A sequel to the Section V Class AA boys soccer final had a happy ending this time for the Hilton Cadets.
The Cadets ended a 28-year wait for their second sectional title Tuesday night when they defeated Fairport, 1-0, at Spencerport in a rematch of last year’s Class AA final
Fairport, the No. 6 seed, won the 2014 championship and made it back to the final, despite a large toll taken because of graduations. Last year’s 2-1 outcome of the sectional AA final also was memorable for the Cadets, who did not allow a goal in this year’s tournament.
“Coming into sectionals we were 6-9-1,” Hilton senior Simon Garno said. “We beat the No. 1 seed (Webster Schroeder) in the second round; that was huge for us, big confidence.
“Then we had Churchville-Chili, a four seed; they were a tough match. We split with them (during the regular season).”
Garno scored the goal early in the second half. The ball may have gone off a Fairport defender.
“I saw that there were 28 minutes left and I knew that those would be the longest 28 minutes of my life,” Garno said. “We dug, stuck it out and we defended well.
“You have to battle once you score in a sectional final.”
The Cadets (10-9-1) move on to face Williamsville North from Section VI, the Buffalo region, at 7 p.m.. Saturday at Spencerport.
“For us to come in again and to have two lower-seeded teams come in and be the final two was a very big deal,” Hilton coach Mike Ellicott said. “And our boys, they had last year’s game fresh in their minds.
“They wanted to get that revenge. They did.”
Garno floated in a ball on goal that skipped off the turf among a clump of players
“It was not the style of play we’ve been accustomed to this season. It wasn’t the prettiest,” McEllicott said with a smile. “The next we know, he’s celebrating a great goal.
“It was just Simon’s nice lofted shot into the back corner, which is always going to cause trouble for keepers.”
JAMESJ@gannett.com