Before the day’s Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Central Division game against Silver Creek/Forestville, Moore sat at 64 career goals and needed to score twice to become the all-time leader at Maple Grove.

For Moore, it was not a question of whether he would reach the total against the Black Knights, it was a question of when he would reach it.

“It definitely was in the back of my mind,” Eli Moore said about the scoring record coming into the game. “I tried not to dwell on it. I tried to play it like a regular game; just get the first goal and see what happens from there.”

The answer to that question was just 12:42 into the game when Moore fiercely headed home his record-setting 66th goal to give Maple Grove a 4-0 lead on its way to a 7-0 league victory.

Maple Grove’s Eli Moore gets a foot on his first goal of the game Monday against Silver Creek/Forestville. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

“It’s an awesome feeling, nothing beats this,” Moore said about breaking the school record. “I can’t say this was a goal of mine, but as the years went on I realized I was getting closer and closer. I thank my teammates so much, it wouldn’t be possible without the countless assists — my teammates and coaches have made sure that I can get these goals in every year.”

In the first 10 minutes of action it was all Maple Grove (6-1-1, 4-0-0) and Moore’s first prime chance at goal was off a corner in the third minute. The goal scorer’s head found the ball, but a big stop from Silver Creek/Forestville’s Joel Dolce led to Keegan Rishel scoring on the rebound.

After several minutes of relentless pressure, Moore finally got his first tally as he timed a perfect run on a beautiful ball into the box by Drew Oste that he redirected into the bottom left corner. From there the goals looked to come easy as Trey DeMink scored less than two minutes later on a give and go with Moore that he buried in the back of the net.

Less than a minute after Moore picked up his second assist of the game he benefited from a beautiful ball into the box off the foot of Rishel and similar to his first goal he timed the run perfectly, but this time he went airborne to hammer home the record-setting 66th goal with a header.

“From the beginning of the game all my teammates were trying to find me,” Moore said about going for the record. “They really wanted me to get this record. I looked up and Keegan looked me dead in the eyes, and I knew it was going in and I knew I had it.”

The 4-0 lead stood for the remainder of the first half, but that did not mean the Maple Grove offense was done scoring goals. In just the second minute of the second half, Rishel found the back of the net for his second goal of the game on a pass from Oste.

“We’ve got a lot of dynamic players that give us a lot of exciting opportunities,” Maple Grove head coach Eric Daigler said. “The base of it is possession. It’s been interesting to watch this team grow with that mentality this year because we’re not just a counter team, we’re a possession team in that final third and that makes us very strong.”

That possession continued and Moore went on to add to his goal total, this time showing off his elite speed and strength on the ball as he dribbled down the right wing and fought off defenders into the box before letting off a quick strike for the hat trick goal at 6-0. Moore added a final tally in the 76th minute and this time he showed off his ball skills as he dribbled through several tight spaces in the box before snapping off a quick shot for goal 68. The last two Moore goals were assisted by DeMink and Jacob Reinhardt.

“Eli Moore is an outstanding player every time he steps on the field,” Daigler said. “He pretty much boosts everybody on the field. This year I’m proud of him for setting the record, but also very proud of the way he’s stepped up as a vocal leader on this team. He has really gone to extra lengths to make sure that he’s maximizing his influence on this team and it’s very positive.”

In a night where Maple Grove dominated on the pitch, Silver Creek/Forestville’s Dolce made sure nothing came easy as he turned aside 22 shots on goal. The Black Knights (2-5-0, 0-4-0) managed a couple of breakaways, but on the other end of the pitch Georgio Akl made the five saves necessary for the clean sheet.