Maple Grove’s Eli Moore scored 29 goals this season. P-J photo by Jason Bower

Two years ago the Maple Grove Red Dragons made the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Far West Regional after winning its first of three Section VI Class C titles in a row. That year the Red Dragons were defeated by Section V’s Keshequa 4-1 and on that team was a freshman, Eli Moore.

This year a junior, Moore and the Red Dragons had their chance at revenge being matched up with Keshequa again with a trip to the state semifinals on the line. Moore made sure that Maple Grove would not experience the heartbreak it did in his freshman season, coming ready to play he found the back of the net three times in the 4-3 Far West Regional victory that the Red Dragons secured with a 5-4 advantage in the penalty-kick shootout.

Moore scored twice in regulation using his blazing speed to get breakaways and in the penalty kicks he showed his poise connecting on his opportunity as Maple Grove advanced to its first-ever Final Four appearance.

Moore rising to the occasion was a common theme for the area’s best boys soccer team. In the playoffs, Moore found himself on the scoresheet at least twice in every game until the state semifinal where he just scored once.

In the Section VI Class C quarterfinals against Westfield/Brocton, Moore scored the first four goals of the contest then added an assist in the second half; in the semifinals against Portville he scored the first goal and had two assists; in the sectional final against Lafayette International he had a goal and an assist; then against Keshequa he scored twice in regulation.

The Red Dragons’ season ended with a 16-3-0 record after the 5-2 loss against Section II’s Maple Hill in the state semifinals.

It looked like Moore and his teammates would be kept off the scoresheet after the first half, but the Red Dragons offense came out determined to find the back of the net after intermission. RJ Helt struck first for the Red Dragons, but Moore was right behind him after making several threatening runs he finally sent a strike past Maple Hill’s keeper to bring Maple Grove within one goal. The one goal was all Moore could muster, but his presence in the second half made Maple Hill worry if it would be advancing to the state final.

Even on a great all-around team like Maple Grove, there is no doubt the Red Dragons would not have made it as far as they did without Moore. His offensive contribution was more than impressive as he scored 29 goals and added 13 assists, leading Maple Grove in both categories. The next best scorer on Maple Grove was sophomore Keegan Rishel with 13 goals and senior Helt had one less assist at 12. Moore either scored or assisted on 55% of the Red Dragons 76 goals this season.

During the regular season, Moore dominated the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Central Division to help the Red Dragons capture another league title with an 8-1-0 record. In league play, Moore scored a hat trick in four games and had points in all but one game. His superb play landed him a spot on the Central Division First Team.

Of Moore’s five hat tricks on the season the sweetest one came against league runnerup Chautauqua Lake. In the Thunderbirds’ and Red Dragons’ first matchup of the season, Maple Grove was shut out at home 1-0. With the league title on the line at Chautauqua Lake in the second meeting, Moore used his speed and offensive instincts to find the back of the net three times to secure the league title with a 4-0 victory.

For all of these reasons Maple Grove junior Eli Moore is the 2021 Post-Journal/OBSERVER Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

With another year left, there is no doubt Moore will continue to add to his impressive resume as Maple Grove attempts to make another run at the state title.