Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017: Molloy, St. Anthony's battle to 1-1 soccer tie

   Leading off today: Archbishop Molloy senior forward Rosario Troia scored with under five minutes left in regulation to forge a 1-1 tie with St. Anthony's in a CHSAA boys soccer showdown Monday.

   Troia cashed in a cross from Michael Perkins.

   "I just saw a big pocket of space and attacked it" Troia told News 12 Varsity. "We just had to keep up the intensity. I knew a goal or a good opportunity would come."

   The Stanners played from behind almost all afternoon after the Friars' Matt Barresi blasted home a free kick from about 35 yards out just five minutes into the contest and went the full first half without recording a shot on goal.

   "We didn't play well enough in the first half," Molloy coach Andy Kostel said. "We didn't come into the game thinking we could compete with them. Once we figured out we could compete with them, we played well."

   Molloy is 9-1-4 and St. Anthony's 9-0-3.

   Long Island clash: Two of Long Island's five best large-school boys soccer teams faced off, with Brentwood and Commack settling for a 2-2 tie.

   Brentwood, ranked third in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association, got off to a roaring start on goals from Johnathan Mendoza-Yanes off a corner kick in the 14th minute and Juan Camillo Montanez in the 16th minute.

   Thirteenth-ranked Commack sliced the deficit in half on Aidan Keenan's goal in the 24th minute and tied the contest with 17 minutes to go when junior midfielder Tyler Meotti cashed in a loose ball following Nick Mastroianni's corner kick.

   "This was huge for us," Meotti said. "This gives us lots of momentum, and will help us close out our last three games."

   Intersectional skirmishes: Byram Hills picked up a 2-0 win over Warwick in an intersectional and interclass boys soccer match.

   Warwick, from Section 9, is ranked sixth in Class AA by the NYSSWA. Byram Hills, from Section 1 and ranked 21st in Class A, presented coach Matt Allen with his 250th career win.

   In other Section 1 vs. 9 games involving ranked Class A squads, Mamaroneck edged No. 15 Cornwall 2-1 on a pair of Cole DiCicco goals, Lakeland played No. 10 Goshen to a 1-1 tie, and No. 24 Red Hook downed Valhalla 1-0.

   Bronxville posted a 1-0 win over Spackenkill, rated ninth in Class B.

   The full set of NYSSWA boys soccer rankings can be viewed here.

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   Following up: Yesterday's blog made mention of Tim Layden's look back at Whitehall's relationship between community and scholastic football in the form of a lengthy piece in Sports Illustrated. Even if you're not from the Capital Region it's worth a read because almost all of us are blessed with passionate small-school football nearby.

   I'd made mention in the blog of a small factual glitch regarding the final NYSSWA football rankings in the 1973 season and was pleasantly surprised to hear from Layden just a few hours later to own up to the mistake. We can

RoadToSyracuse.com football site

chalk that one up to some confusing news- paper clips from more than four decades ago -- a concept with which every reporter who's ever had to plunge into ancient microfilm is very familiar.

   Two deaths to report: Paul Mueller, who coached Pittsford Suth- erland to four Section 5 boys basketball cham- pionships and won 376 games from 1967-96, died Sunday. He was 77.

   Mueller also coached golf teams to a 230-40-8 record, and his Pittsford golf teams went 123-3-5 -- including a 100-match unbeaten streak, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

    • Russ Bastin, who chalked up 479 varsity wins in boys basketball at Uniondale from 1956-91, died last month at the age of 94.

   Bastin was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

   Looking back: State-ranked Pleasantville made an interesting and productive personnel move to deal with an injury last weekend.

   With Jack Howe unable to practice during the week due to a bicep injury, junior Danny Melillo stepped in at quarterback and went 10-for-13 for 195 yards in a 41-0 win vs. Putnam Valley.

   Melillo's stats included a 65-yard touchdown pass to ... yup, Jack Howe. With receiver Jared Wilens also injured, Howe lined up at end and finished with three catches for 98 yards.

   Looking ahead: It appears that a pair of small-school powers in Section 4 will make some football history this weekend.

   When Newark Valley (Class C) and Sidney (D) play on Saturday, it will be the first instance we've been able to find of two No. 1 teams in the NYSSWA rankings playing each other this far into the regular season during the state tournament era.

   The closest call in that respect appears to have taken place in Section 1. Back in 2006, Harrison (A) and Rye (B) faced off, with Rye coming away with a 19-17 win. While that contest was played in Week 7 of the New York schedule, it was only the sixth block of games for Section 1 teams.

   In 2014, Maine-Endwell (B) defeated Chenango Forks (C) 20-7 in a Week 6 contest in Section 4.