By Sharvani Regmi
HONEOYE FALLS, NY. – It was a rematch of last year's Class C1 championship as No. 2 Byron-Bergen (14-3-1) took on No. 1 East Rochester (17-1-0). The Bees could not duplicate the outcome from last year as they fell 3-2 after a second half comeback from the Bombers.
Both teams ended the first half scoreless despite both East Rochester and Byron-Bergen getting multiple scoring opportunities. It was a highly defensive and physical battle throughout and halftime was a much-needed reset for both sides.
"It was still 0-0," Byron-Bergen head coach Ken Rogoyski said. "It was tied, and we just knew that we had to bring it in the second half. We got up early in the second half, they then got up on us. ER (East Rochester) played fantastic, they are a great, physical matchup."
Forward Colin Rea opened up the scoring for Byron-Bergen in the second half. After a push in the back was called on East Rochester, it set Rea up for the penalty kick. Rea found the bottom left corner as he shot it past the outstretched arms of Bombers' senior goalie Alexander Entz to put the Bees up 1-0.
"East Rochester had really good defense," Rea said. "I didn't have many opportunities, but I tried to capitalize. I've been working on penalty kicks all year, so I was ready for the moment."
After the score, it was all Bombers. Junior Perry Francis netted two goals in a row with 15 minutes remaining and six minutes left in regulation to put East Rochester up 2-1. Liam Kinney then put the game away as he scored a goal to give the Bombers a 3-1 lead with 1:08 remaining. Francis has scored 14 goals this season and Kinney has registered 26 goals to his name making him the highest scoring Bomber on the year.
With 11 seconds left in regulation, Rea found the back of the net once again, this time over the head of Entz and into the top of the goal. With the effort, Rea finished with 15 goals on the season, second on the team after Jack Farner who racked up 26 this season.
“Unfortunately, it was a very physical game,” Rogoyski said. “We were not at full strength, but we played with a lot of heart, and I’m very proud of all of them. They gave it their all, they never gave up until the last second.”
The Bees season comes to a close as they finish with a 14-4-1 record. For East Rochester, they win its 18th straight and look ahead to this Wednesday, Nov. 6 as they take on the Class C2 champions, No. 1 Kendall Eagles. Time and location are still to be determined.
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