Pearl River Falls to Pelham in Section 1 Boys Soccer Final

Pelham senior forward Aidan Miller needed less than 10 minutes in Friday's Section 1 Class A boys soccer championship game at Arlington to show why he is such a dangerous player, taking a pass from Eddie Livingstone and beating Pearl River goalkeeper Pat Guerin to give the Pelicans the lead.

"That combination there was a great play," Pearl River Head Coach Damon O'Keefe said. "They did it all year. We knew it was coming. 

"We had done a pretty good job the last couple of games starting well. Unfortunately, we didn't start well today. A little of that is due to me. I didn't put these guys in the right position to start an they made us pay."

Pelham made the goal stand up for a 1-0 victory and the section championship.

"It's so special when you hear the whistle go off and you know you've got the win," Murray said. "It's everything high school sports stands for, you work for in the preseason. It pays off at that point."

Murray said a key was the feed from Livingstone, who gave him the ball with time and a one-on-one with Guerin

"Eddie and I have a great connection," Murray said. "He fed me the ball and I found a way to get it around the keeper. We know each other well. We've played together for 10-12 years."

"We were trying to play our game," Pelham Head Coach Terence Huvane said. "Our game is to push it to the corners and attack from the corners and that's where the goal came from. We knew the first goal was critically important and we knew Pearl River was absolutely going to keep coming and they sure proved us right there. What respect we have for them and theri players. they play so hard and challenge for every ball."

Pearl River (14-4-2) was able to limit Pelham (13-5-1) from there with a more physical style and generated chances of its own, but could not get the tying goal.

"We settled down," O'Keefe said. "We started marking up and playing more physical, playing our style of soccer. Unfortunately, we didn't do that the first eight minutes. Some of that comes from Aidan Noonan. I probably should have started him."

"The physicality,we get a little overwhelmed sometimes,' Murray said. "And those throw-ins and corners are very dangerous. I never thought we would pull through, but sometimes you have luck on your side."

Approximately three minutes into the second half, Pearl River's Ethan Dowie put a shot off the post. With just over 22 minutes remaining, the Pirates had another flurry in front of the goal, but one shot went off the crossbar and another was narrowly deflected away by a Pelham defender.

"We talked at halftime that we had to play better," O'Keefe said. "If we could make two or three runs in a row, we could make a push at them. Unfortunately, we hit a post. We hit the crossbar. Supposedly, we were inches away from putting one in. That's a credit to them. They held."

Huvane and Murray both praised the Pearl River after the game. The Pirates took a moment after the game to run over to applaud their fans. 

"These guys are the best," O'Keefe said. "I love these guys. They are an awesome group to work with."