By: Dominic Mruzek
HILTON, NY--- The Churchville Chili Saints started their season off strong with a 2-0 victory over the Hilton Cadets. The Cadets were unable to get anything going on offense throughout the game, which led to their loss.
“We had a little bit of an issue with a focus on discipline,” Hilton head coach Michael Elliott said. “It’s very difficult in our sport at times because the boys come from different leagues and different tournaments where the referee may act a certain way. You have to adapt; you have to adapt very quickly.”
The Churchville Chili Saints jumped out to an early lead with a goal by Lucas Cariola five minutes into the first half. This was Cariola’s first varsity goal of his career.
“I was extremely nervous,” Cariola said. “And I was very scared because the kids were a lot bigger than me and the pace of play was a lot faster.”
Both teams kept getting shots on goal, but the game remained a stalemate in the first half. The defense played a strong role in this game, as both team's goalies blocked shots. Hilton had three scoring chances at the end of the half but were unable to capitalize.
To start the second half, Hilton’s Cooper Nickels fired a shot that was saved by Churchville-Chili goalie Mason Simmons. The second half proved to be a more physical game than the first, as less shots on goal were taken.
With 19:12 to go in the second half, Nikos Bitsas sent a shot into the goal which sealed the victory for Churchville-Chili.
“We got a lot of returning guys coming back, a lot of young guys like Lucas out there, and Lucas holds his own.” Bitsas said. “We just connected. We’ve been together for three years, and it finally paid off. He played me a nice ball over the top, and I just ran in and finished it.”
With the win, Churchville Chili improves to 1-0 on the season, and look ahead to Saturday as they travel to take on the Brighton Bruins at 11:00 a.m. The Cadets will look to bounce back when they visit Rush-Henrietta on Saturday night at 7:15 p.m.
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