Matt Vowinkel leads Chaminade to CHSAA 'AA' state title
Chaminade head coach Michael Gallagher is doused with water by members of his team after defeating Canisius in the CHSAA state championship at St. John's on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015. Credit: Errol Anderson
Matt Vowinkel found himself in an unfamiliar position after Chaminade's 5-0 win over Canisius in the state CHSAA Class AA final Sunday.
A headlock.
Vowinkel, who scored two goals, let his guard down for just a split-second -- maybe for the first time since soccer camp opened in August. Andrea Codispoti, who also scored twice, took the opportunity to tease the leading scorer. Vowinkel couldn't help but crack a smile, saying "get off me" as he pushed his teammate away. The two hugged.
"It makes it even more special that you can be one of those teams that win a state championship and you can remember it forever," said Vowinkel, who finished his junior year with 26 goals.
The Flyers (18-2-2) won their first CHSAA state title since 2010 before 1,000 fans at St. John's Belson Stadium.
After Dylan Dwyer sent a ball into the box, Codispoti fired a shot to the left side of the net 11 minutes in for a 1-0 lead.
"I mean, it's great to score goals, but I like assisting them, too," Codispoti said. "It's all about winning a state championship, and that's what we did today."
Vowinkel scored on a nearly perfect through pass from Jack Graziano with 3:29 left in the first half for a 2-0 lead.
Codispoti and Vowinkel scored 32 seconds apart -- both assisted by Tim Davis -- to make it 4-0. "Arguably, he's the best forward on Long Island and it's just that he scores incredible goals in big games," coach Michael Gallagher said of Vowinkel. "He's scoring goals to win championships."
Nicholas Lavinio added the final goal off a pass from James Donnelly.
For senior defender Matthew O'Connor -- part of a unit consisting of Dwyer, Kevin Lee, Nicholas Milano and himself that allowed zero shots on goal in consecutive games for goalkeeper Yanni Rigos -- Sunday's game was bittersweet.
"I realized this was my last time wearing a Chaminade soccer jersey," he said. "Not only was I just overrun with extreme joy and happiness but I was also getting extremely sad. The second I heard that whistle blow, I started crying hysterically.
"This is amazing because I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life. I'm always going to look at this plaque . . . always going to look on the fifth star on the jackets we get and know I was a part of it."
