Section VI Boys Soccer FWR Preview

The six sectional champions have been crowned in Section VI - and now they will advance to Far West Regionals for a chance to advance to Middletown High School for a shot at a state championship.

Class AAA - Lancaster (VI) vs Fairport (V)

The Class AAA Far West Regional will pit Lancaster against Fairport. The 2024 edition saw Fairport take the win 5-3. This year’s match is set for Saturday at 5PM at West Seneca West High School.

In the classification’s three seasons of competition, Lancaster (14-4-0, 11-2-0 ECIC I Red) has taken the blue patch in Section VI all three seasons. This season, they defeated West Seneca 3-1 in the final to advance to Far Wests. Roland Wenk leads the way for the Legends with 28 goals and 7 assists, with Declan Sengbusch adding 7 goals and 23 assists. Colin Roberts tends the goal for Lancaster. The Legends are looking to advance to Regionals for the first time since 2023, when they defeated Fairport 1-0, and were eventually ousted by Section III’s Baldwinsville in the state semifinal by a 3-0 score.

Fairport advanced by way of a 4-1 victory over McQuaid Jesuit, and looks to have a repeat performance of their 2024 season that ended in a state championship, where they defeated Section II’s Shaker 2-1 in 2OT. This year’s team is led by Sean Griffin, who has 13 goals and 5 assists to his name thus far. Trevor Scoppa and Justin Burton are also key contributors to the Red Raider offense - each finding twine 9 times this season. Evan Furciniti has a 0.27 GAA and just four goals against in his over 1000 minutes played in goal this season.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class AA - Clarence (VI) vs Churchville-Chili (V)

Both the girls and boys teams for Churchville-Chili took home blue patches from Section V, and the boys squad will face a perennial Section VI powerhouse in Clarence for their Far West Regional game, which is set to be the 7:30PM nightcap Saturday night at West Seneca West High School. Clarence is ranked 4th in the NYSSWA rankings, while Churchville-Chili is ranked 7th.

Clarence (18-1-0, 11-1-0 ECIC I Red) comes in with four consecutive Section VI Class AA Championships, and 17 total dating back to their first in 1975. They knocked off Williamsville East 2-0 in the sectional final. Carson Holden and Bennett Garigen lead the Red Devils in scoring - Holden recording 16 goals and 3 assists, and Garigen adding 13 goals and 4 assists. Clarence is fresh off a state final appearance in 2024, falling to Section VIII’s Garden City 2-1. Clarence has won four times at the regional - including the last two - but has yet to win a state championship.

For their opponent, Churchville-Chili (15-1-2), they shutout Penfield 2-0 in the Section V Class AA Final to advance to the Regional for the 2nd time in 3 years. They were ousted by Spencerport in 2024 in the Section V Semifinal by way of penalty kicks, but won in 2023, which snapped a 29-year sectional drought. They fell 3-0 in that 2023 Far West Regional to Clarence. This year’s team is led by junior Lucas Cariola with 15 goals and 12 assists on the season. Senior Mason Simmons tends the goal for the Saints, recording 75 saves and just 8 goals allowed this season.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class A - East Aurora (VI) vs Pittsford-Mendon (V)

The Saturday slate at West Seneca West begins at Noon at with the Class A match, which will feature NYS #6 East Aurora and NYS #2 Pittsford-Mendon.

After lightning forced the Section VI Class A crossover game to be completed Tuesday evening, it was East Aurora (18-2-0, 11-0-0 ECIC II Red) who emerged victorious, winning 2-1 with two second half goals. They won 3 of the last 4 Class B championships, but were moved up to Class A for 2025, and picked up their 4th consecutive blue patch. This year’s team is led by Owen Mack, who has 15 goals and 9 assists through the sectional tournament. Kai Sendziak has 8 goals and 14 assists as well. Charlie Finnerty and Connor Morris have held the fort down in goal for the Blue Devils this season. After winning a state championship in Class B in 2023, defeating Spackenkill of Section IX, East Aurora will look to accomplish the feat in a higher classification. 

Pittsford-Mendon (16-2-0) is 2nd in the NYSSWA Class A Rankings, and defeated crosstown rival Pittsford-Sutherland 1-0 in the Section V Class A Final, rebounding from 2024’s defeat to Brockport in the sectional final. Colin Krohn leads Mendon with 15 goals and 6 assists, his 15th of the season being the game-winning goal in the sectional final. They have three goaltenders that have spent time in goal this season - Sebastian Smith, Nolan Rae, and Carmen Esposito. Esposito got the most minutes in goal this season - posting a 0.63 GAA in 560 minutes. 

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class B - Lafayette (VI) vs Hornell (V)

The Class B Far West match is set for Saturday at 2:30PM at West Seneca West High School, and will pit Lafayette against Hornell in a battle of NYS Top 5 teams.

Lafayette (17-2-1, 12-0-0 Buffalo) coasted by Springville 4-1 to take home the blue patch, after coming up short in the 2023 and 2024 finals. Eca Kabeza leads the way with 18 goals and 12 assists, aided by Fredy Sanclemente with 14 goals and 5 assists. This will be Lafayette’s first appearance in the Far West Regional, and they will look to make it count.

Hornell, on the other hand, is back in the Far West Regional for the third consecutive season. This year, they knocked off LeRoy/Caledonia-Mumford 2-1 in the Section V Class B Final to advance to Saturday’s match. Wyatt Evingham leads the state ranked #1 team with 24 goals and 15 assists, and Marco Picco added 11 goals and 6 assists. Alfie Whiteley will tend the goal for Hornell, who looks to avenge last season’s 6-0 defeat to East Aurora.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class C - Wilson (VI) vs Naples (V)

The nightcap for Friday at West Seneca West is set for 7:30PM, with Wilson facing off against Naples.

Wilson (19-0-0, 10-0-0 Niagara-Orleans) has been straight up dominant in sectional competition, although that may be an understatement for the #2 team in the state. Aidan Neumann has been sensational for the Lakemen, finding twine a staggering 51 times this season, and adding 13 assists as well. David Gurski adds 20 goals and 13 assists to the Wilson offensive attack, and Eli Moore tends the goal for Wilson. Last Saturday, it was Gage Gallie that scored the late overtime winner to give Wilson a 1-0 victory over Allegany-Limestone to claim their first blue patch since 2001.

In Tuesday evening’s Section V Class C crossover, it was Naples securing the win in a tightly contested 1-0 decision over Williamson. Oscar Austin tallied the lone goal in that contest, and he is one of five players for Naples that has tallied double digit goals this season. Connor Betrus leads the way with 29 goals, and adding 12 assists. Maddox Manella has 17 goals, Riccardo Izzo has 16, the aforementioned Austin is fourth on the team with 14 goals, and Isaac Ward has 10 goals. Oscar Austin is the team leader in assists with 24. Joseph Christmas is the keeper for Naples, and carries a 0.33 GAA into the regional round.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class D - Maple Grove (VI) vs Fillmore (V)

For the first time since 2021, Maple Grove captured the blue patch, albeit by default as they were the lone Class D team in Section VI this season, and will face a perennial powerhouse in Fillmore on Friday at 5:00 PM at West Seneca West High School.

Maple Grove (8-6-0, 3-5-0 CCAA III) is ranked 7th in the state rankings for Class D, and is led by the two-headed monster of Ty Oste and Ty Kraft, with Oste recording 25 goals and 9 assists, and Kraft adding 10 goals and 12 assists. Liam Colburn tends the goal for the Red Dragons, who are looking for their first regional victory in program history, with 7 previous appearances.

For Fillmore (19-1-0), the 3rd ranked team in the state, breezed through the D1 bracket and knocked off Avoca-Prattsburgh in Tuesday’s crossover game by a score of 5-2. Isaiah Sisson leads the Eagles with 33 goals and 4 assists, with Bayden Walton adding 16 goals and 12 assists. Jared Boon is the goalkeeper for Fillmore, posting a 0.37 GAA in his over 1400 minutes of play between the posts. Having avenged their sectional loss to Naples last season, they will look to avenge their 2023 regional loss to Ellicottville to vie for an appearance in Middletown.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Feature Image Courtesy of Wilson Athletics

Matt Tsitso contributed to this report