Bath advanced to finals
THE LEADER STAFF

COHCOTON - The thirdseeded Bath Haverling boys soccer team only needed one goal to advance to the Section V, Class BB championship with a 1-0 shutout of second-seeded Hornell Monday, Oct. 29, at Cohocton.

It was the third meeting between the two teams, with each team winning as the visitor. Bath won 2-1 in Hornell on Sept. 19 and the Red Raiders took a 1-0 victory out of Bath on Oct. 15.

Monday's contest was similar to the first two meetings.

After a scoreless first half, Bath's Justin Brown slid and stole a pass at midfield. He then beat two defenders down the sideline and blasted it past Hornell Goalie Kevin McAllister with 25 minutes left in the contest.

The Rams' defense held off the Red Raiders for the rest of the game to preserve the 1-0 victory. Bath rallied behind goalkeeper Mike Rossi's 13th shutout of the year and earned a trip to the championship game.

"I give the defense credit for keeping track of their very quick, talented players," said Bath Haverling head coach Matt Hill. "Sam Robbins, Dylan Wales, Nick Badeau and Reid Gustin: I thought those guys did an exceptional job in the back along with our goalie Mike Rossi. Robbins normally plays midfield, but he played defense the whole game because we had an injury."

The statistics were almost as tight as they could have been. Hornell outshot the Rams by just one shot (10-9), each team had three corner kicks and Hornell had five saves, while Bath had four.

It was a well-played game," added Hill. "The last three games everyone has worked hard and played for the entire 90 minutes. I've been preaching it all year, since day one, and I think we're starting to realize it after winning these last three games in a row."

Bath played at finals Sat. Nov. 3. Results will be published next Sunday, Nov. 11.