Chaminade tops St. Anthony's in NSCHSAA boys soccer championship
Chaminade wins the NSCHSAA league boys soccer final at Adelphi on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Credit: Derrick Dingle /Derrick Dingle
The last hurdle on the way to the NSCHSAA boys soccer championship has been the toughest for quite some time now. Chaminade and St. Anthony’s have met in the title match 13 straight years. And neither of the archrivals wants any part of the other lifting a trophy.
“The feeling in the games between us is a little like life-and-death,” Chaminade senior Blake Donahue said. “And in the championship game it feels even bigger.”
Donahue and senior midfielder Kevin Duffy gave Chaminade just enough lift to clear that final hurdle after teaming up for a first-half goal. The Flyers’ defense did the rest in a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Adelphi’s Motamed Field on Tuesday night.
The Flyers won all three meetings this season.
“We keep it simple. We play hard and we play together,” Chaminade coach Brian Anselmo said. “If one guy makes a mistake, the next guy picks him up. It’s what we’ve done this season and it’s taken us here.”
The Flyers (16-1-1) are Long Island Catholic champions for the 19th time and first since 2021. They advance to Friday’s 7 p.m. state tournament semifinals where they will meet Diocese of Brooklyn champion St. Francis Prep at St. John’s University. The title game is Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
“After the sting of losing this last season it felt great to get back here and win it,” Duffy said. “I can’t wait for the next game.”
Donahue, the CHSAA Offensive MVP this season, was in position to take a shot about 11 minutes in on the right wing, but instead sent a pass to Duffy. He went high to the right side and just got it past the outstretched arm of CHSAA Goalie of the Year Cole Lawrence for the game’s only goal.
“(Anselmo) told me that I haven't been myself recently and that I needed to step up when it mattered,” Duffy said. “What I did today, even though I missed some shots, came because they had the confidence in me to do it.”
“I could have taken a shot there, but I knew Duffy had the confidence to put it in,” Donahue said. “He's been needing one recently and he finished it. He buried it. It was a great goal.”
St. Anthony’s (14-5-2) has struggled all season to generate offense and that was a problem for much of the title game. The Friars finally started to put things together with 12 minutes left to play, but were foiled by some great team defense.
Benito Calderone was able to get a header over the hands of goalie Keegan Portsmore but Gavin Coogan had falled back into the goalmouth and knocked it away. And two minutes later a Antonio Testani corner kick was headed for the back post when Jack Veletanga was in the goalmouth behind Portsmore to knock it off the line. CHSAA co-Defensive Player of the Year Antonio Ruffo also cleared one off the line.
“I saw that from here,” Donahue said, standing at midfield. “Those were amazing, game-saving plays.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
