St. Anthony's repeats as CHSAA champion
St. Anthony's No. 10 TJ Butzke, second from right, and teammates celebrate after their 4-2 win over Fordham Prep in the NYCHSAA state championship at Adelphi University on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Credit: James Escher
Legendary.
"That's the one word for this season,'' said T.J. Butzke, a captain of St. Anthony's boys soccer team. "Usually we do it as the top dog with everyone coming after us. This year we did things differently.''
The result was familiar.
Behind four different goal scorers, St. Anthony's defeated Fordham Prep, 4-2, Sunday night at Adelphi and captured a second consecutive CHSAA state championship.
The Friars are back-to-back champions for the first time in the program's history. It's their fourth state title.
In contrast to last season, when the Friars lost only once and allowed only three goals, players said nearly every game this year was a challenge.
"I thought last year felt good,'' captain Jake Giuffrida said, "but this felt 10 times better.''
In some ways, the win was a microcosm of the Friars' season. In other words, it didn't come without a battle.
The Friars never trailed, but Fordham Prep tied the score twice in a wild first half that produced five goals.
Ryan Gonclaves scored the game's first goal in the ninth minute.
Then the pace picked up.
Fordham Prep tied it in the 23rd minute on Dan Fox's goal. Two minutes later, Ray Peterson beat goalkeeper Will Marment to the ball and tapped in the Friars' second goal. Four minutes after that, Max Moessner tied it with a blast from 15 yards.
Zuberi Symister gave St. Anthony's a 3-2 lead with four minutes left in the first half when he put in a rebound after Beau Hornberger's header was cleared off the line.
John Foley scored the Friars' fourth goal when he cashed in from close range with 20 minutes left. Still, Fordham Prep had several chances to score in the final 15 minutes, but Hornberger and Giuffrida commanded the defense and made several clears.
Now, the final legendary piece of the game: Friars coach Gene Buonaiuto reached 400 wins. "It's pretty sweet to get it today,'' he said. "You can't beat this.''
Giuffrida was glad he could help him reach the milestone. "I can't imagine playing for this team and him not being on the sideline,'' he said. "He makes you proud to play for him.''
Buonaiuto, who has coached St. Anthony's since 1985, is 400-116-42.
"I wouldn't want to play for anyone else in the country,'' Butzke said. "Coach Bon-Bon is a legend.''
