Warriors eager for state soccer shot (with photo gallery)

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bill Palmer

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Joe Avery wanted one more chance to play for a state soccer title.

The senior midfielder kept his hopes — and those of his Mohonasen teammates — alive Saturday by scoring the second goal as the Mighty Warriors beat Queensbury, 2-0, in the Section II boys’ soccer Class A championship game at Colonie High School.

The championship was the third in four years for the Mighty Warriors, who advanced to the state semifinals in 2009.

Mohonasen, 11-9-0, will play Section III champion East Syracuse-Minoa Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Colonie. A win would put the Warriors into Saturday’s regional final at Schuylerville, the quarterfinal round of the state tournament.

“This is so good, because last year, we got knocked out early. We thought we should have done better. This year was kind of a revenge thing for us,” said Avery, who was part of Mohonasen’s 2008 and 2009 sectional championship teams.

Cameron McDermott gave the fourth-seeded Mighty Warriors a 1-0 lead when he deposited Attilio Tebano’s cross from the right flank into the Queensbury goal 15 minutes into the game. Fifteen minutes later, Avery made it 2-0.

When a corner kick traveled to the far post, Avery settled the ball and fired it home.

“I saw the keeper come off his line and said, ‘All right. Put it there,’ ” said Avery who scored on a 50-yard shot in Mohonasen’s win over Glens Falls in the 2009 championship game. “The 50-yarder is still my favorite. That’s No.1.”

Mohonasen coach Cory Gregg liked what he saw on both goals.

“The first goal came on a nice cross by Attilio, and Cameron finishing,” he said. “Joe’s goal was just Joe being Joe. He was in the right place.”

Queensbury was the third straight Suburban Council team Mohonasen faced in winning its latest championship.

“This team played more of a possession game,” said Avery, whose team had beaten Scotia-Glenville in the quarterfinals and Glens Falls in the semis. “We knew they had some very skilled players.

“I felt we matched up well with Queensbury, and in the first half, we forced the play,’ said Gregg “Two early goals were nice but the wind picked up in the second half and they pressed us and we got a little complacent. But our backs played very well. all game.

Queensbury coach Pete Crotty felt Mohonasen cashing in its’ first-half chances set the tone.

“We really didn’t test their keeper that much,” said Crotty, who hadn’t had a team play for a title since 1992, his third as head coach. “They made the most of their chances.

”We knew how they were going to play, and we talked about possession. The key to the game is they got a lot of possession in the middle of the field, and that’s where we didn’t want it.”

McDermott credited his team’s Suburban Council schedule for getting the Warriors ready for the postseason, where they are 4-0.

“It has to do with the league we play in,” McDermott said. “The Suburban Council really prepares us for sectionals. The other teams see good competition, but not like we do.”

Tebano also was also a part of the 2009 championship team, and knew it was important to set the tone.

“Getting that 2-0 halftime lead was real important,” he said. “On the first goal, I just beat my man and sent it across, and Cameron was there to finish it. Joe made a great shot on the second goal.

“It’s great to get another shot at regionals and hopefully, states. We want to finish it for the seniors.”

“This is my second,” said McDermott. “Hopefully, we can get back to where we were a couple of years ago when we got to states, and take it home this year.”