Sports
Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Bryan Wager, left, and Jake Converse celebrate after their win over Greece Athena in the Section V Class A State Qualifier played at Spencerport High School on Tuesday, November 3, 2015. HF-L advanced over Greece Athena on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in overtime.
Tally the production of Bryan Wager through sectionals, and it’s clear he was productive for the Honeoye Falls-Lima Cougars.
“He scored one goal versus Wayne, I think they had three guys on him,’’ HF-L coach Mike Merrill said. “Two goals against Greece Olympia. Two goals against (Pittsford) Sutherland.
“They had to pay so much attention to him, he really carried us. He’s produced tremendously for us.’’
There was nothing the Greece Athena Trojans could do to mark Wager, however, when Section V’s qualifier match for the Class A state tournament moved to penalty kicks.
Wager made the game-ending kick after a 1-1 tie with Athena to push HF-L into the state regional round Friday night.
“We played the same team last year, the same game, right after a sectional final,’’ Wager said. “They took to us. This year, we just tried to stay in it.
“We got all the way to PKs, and we know that we have a great goalie in James Bonnadonna and we have a bunch of finishers, so we were pretty confident going into it.”
HF-L (12-6-2), Section V’s Class A2 champion, continues its season at 7:30 Friday night at Spencerport, against either Grand Island or Iroquois of the Buffalo region. Grand Island, Section VI’s A1 champion, and Iroquois played Tuesday night at Hamburg.
“I’m ecstatic, especially for the seniors who worked so hard the last two, three years,” Merrill said. “This was kind of the hurdle we didn’t get over last year.
“Greece Athena was an excellent team this year and last year, so it’s quite an accomplishment for them to beat a great team like that.’’
Athena, a team in the Monroe County league that won its first Section V championships last fall, defeated HF-L 3-1 in last year’s sectional “A” state qualifier. The Trojans went on to win the state championship.
To extend their chance to repeat the feat, the Athena Trojans needed to win Tuesday’s match between Section V champions. Athena, Section V’s Class A1 champion, had to come from behind.
Pressure early in the second half turned into a 1-0 lead for HF-L. Jake Converse, a senior midfielder, scored with 28 minutes remaining in regulation. Athena put pressure on seconds later, and was rewarded with 25:08 remaining,
Bonadonna bent over to scoop a ball near the goalpost on his left, but Athena freshman forward CJ Taketch kicked it around and past the goalie. Either team could have moved ahead during the remainder of regulation and the two 15-minute “sudden victory” periods.
Bonadonna made nine saves. At least four required tips or punches over the crossbar by the HF-L senior goalie.
“I love PKs,’’ Bonadonna said. “My teammates hate me in practice, because I usually save them. I don’t know what happened out there. They had some great shots.'”
Parker Hotchkiss, a sophomore, gave HF-L a 4-3 advantage during the penalty kicks, with Athena’s fourth attempt to come.
“I couldn’t read the kid,” Bonadonna said. “He hit it well and I ended up guessing wrong; that doesn’t happen often. It was a great shot, but he just got a little bit unlucky.’’
Athena senior midfielder Tamer Ozkum’s kick hit the post to his right and the goalie’s left.
“That’s life,” Athena coach Mike Butler said. “It’s a cruel way to lose, no matter which team did.
“We had a great effort, nothing but good feelings about it.”
JAMESJ@gannett.com