Mia Pirozzi's overtime winner lifts Ward Melville girls soccer to first state title
Ward Melville's Amelia Pirozzi, facing, is carried by Peyton Costello after Pirozzi made the game-winning goal in the NYSPHSAA Class AA girls soccer championship against Clarence at Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, N.Y., on Sunday. Credit: Heather Ainsworth/Heather Ainsworth
CORTLAND, N.Y. — Elyse Munoz heard some troubling news — something that took her back to sophomore year.
The Ward Melville senior goalkeeper was a part of the Patriots’ Suffolk Class AA co-championship team in the spring of 2021, when high school sports schedules were adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That victory was bittersweet. Yes, they were county champions, but Ward Melville shared the crown with Sachem East as the game didn’t advance to penalty kicks following overtime.
Munoz learned Sunday’s state final, which Ward Melville won 1-0, had the chance of ending the same way.
After a scoreless 80 minutes with Clarence in the girls soccer state Class AA final at Tompkins Community College Sunday afternoon, Munoz heard the referee instruct the teams that if neither team scored in the 30 minutes of overtime, both teams would be co-champions.
“I said, ‘I refuse to lose. I refuse to tie. I won’t let that happen again,”’ Munoz said. “We all just pushed really hard and got the job done.”
And for the second time in as many days, it was Mia Pirozzi scoring the winning goal in overtime to give Ward Melville the victory and its first state title in program history. Clarence finished 18-2.
Pirozzi also scored the winning goal in overtime in the state semifinals on Saturday.
“I just knew it was overtime, I had to get in there and I had to do it again,” Pirozzi said. “I had to get the win for the whole team with the seniors leaving. We had to make history and we did.”
Pirozzi finished a touch from Adri Victoriano following a long run and through ball by Maddy Costello with 11:32 left in the first 15-minute overtime period.
“From August, we knew we were going to come through and get the victory,” Pirozzi said. “And end up with a ring.”
Ward Melville did so in undefeated fashion, finishing the season 17-0-3. The Patriots controlled possession the majority of the contest but were unable to finish with a goal in regulation.
“We knew it was coming and it just happened to be the same type of goal as yesterday,” said midfielder Peyton Costello, Maddy’s older sister. “I knew it was coming, I was so confident in our team and we just kept plugging away and eventually we got there.”
“This is what a championship team does,” coach John Diehl said. “We talk about this a lot, they deal with adversity, they deal with any challenge thrown their way and I can’t say enough about them.”
Diehl thought back to the spring county championship in 2021. He heard Munoz say that wasn’t how she wanted her final high school game to end and the Patriots made that a reality.
“They didn’t want that,” he said. “They wanted to take it to them and they took it to them today. It was one of our best games ever and to do that in the state championship is perfect timing.”
“I couldn’t imagine my senior year ending any other way,” said Munoz, who made two saves. “It’s just so surreal. I’ve been on varsity four years and I couldn’t imagine it ending any other way.”
