Local Sports

Out of reach

Lancaster beats Jamestown in Class AAA final

WEST SENECA -- From the opening kickoff, it was apparent Jamestown would have its hands full Saturday.

Once Lancaster scored its first goal, it was like the pitch was tilted in the Legends' favor.

No. 1 Lancaster led 4-0 at halftime and outshot No. 3 Jamestown 35-1 in the game as the Legends beat the Red & Green 5-0 in the Section VI Class AAA final at West Seneca West High School.

Next up for the Legends, who have now won 11 sectional titles including all four since the state introduced a six-class system in 2023, is the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Far West Regional against Section V champion McQuaid, which beat Fairport 4-3 in the Rochester area's title game. The regional will take place Friday at Geneseo High School.

"They are a really good team. They are coached well," Jamestown head coach Bonnie Schnars said of the Legends. "They are super technical, they're aggressive. ... They didn't let up on one ball."

For Jamestown, which has never won a sectional crown in boys soccer, its season comes to an end with a 12-7-0 record. The Red & Green have lost to Lancaster in three of the four Class AAA finals.

"We've been here three times now in the last four years," Schnars said. "Sooner or later, we're going to end up with the blue patch."

The Legends opened the scoring in the fourth minute Saturday when Liam Gladstone played a corner kick to Landon Gladstone just outside the near side of the 6-yard box. Landon Gladstone then dropped a pass to Anthony Sirianni, who scored his 19th goal of the season to make it 1-0.

Jamestown hung around for another 10 minutes, but never built an offensive attack. In the 15th minute, Red & Green keeper Ben Brown stopped two shots, but Nikola Nikolov scored on a third opportunity to make it 2-0.

Jamestown's best advancement of the first half came on a free kick from just inside 50 yards with just over 19 minutes remaining.

"We changed our lineup today a little bit," Schnars said. "We played a big defensive game in the beginning and it just wasn't working."

The Legends made it 3-0 in the 26th minute as Sirianni crossed a ball to Nikolov, who buried a shot from inside the 6-yard box.

Brown, who was credited with nearly 30 saves on the afternoon, stopped a Nikolov penalty shot in the 31st minute before the rebound was pounded off the goal post.

"He was absolutely amazing today," Schnars said of Brown. "I think we counted exactly 30 saves and they were quality saves. He gave those guys a run for their money."

Jamestown defender William Schnars saved a ball off the goal line in the 39th minute, but Sirianni followed his own pass and scored his second of the game to make it 4-0 heading into halftime.

After the break, Sirianni completed a hat trick on a 15-yard drive in the 45th minute and the Legends removed their starters with about 20 minutes remaining to begin preparations for this coming Friday's state quarterfinal.

The Red & Green will lose eight seniors to graduation, but continue a push to the top of Section VI next season when they return 13 varsity players, including leading-scorer Beckett Lumia.

"We have a lot of younger kids on the team this year. The Rivera boys (Niam and Nias) are a big part of the future of this program. John Schnars is a ninth-grader and he's another big part of the program going forward," Bonnie Schnars said. "We have some kids coming back next year for their senior year who are going to want this."