Nichols Nets OT Winner, Byram Hills Advances to NYS Final 4

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

Sometimes, it takes a loss to open your eyes and recognize. State-ranked (No.5) BYRAM HILLS had no idea what it would evolve into until a one-goal loss to perennial powerhouse Somers in mid-October ignited something within.

“I didn’t see this coming,” Byram Hills Coach Matt Allen said after his Bobcats knocked off two-time Section 9 champion Beacon in overtime, 2-1, in Saturday’s NYSPHSAA Class A Region 1 championship game at FDR High School. It was the fourth regional title in Byram Hills’ history.

“We turned  a corner after that loss to Somers,” the coach admitted. “Sometimes, a close loss to a great team can prepare you and become a turning point.”

State-ranked (No.5) Byram Hills (16-2-4) has morphed into a state title contender, emerging from an afterthought in Section 1, merely a fourth seed, to a favorite in the state Final Four against state-ranked (No.11) Mineola (LI) of Section 8, Friday, Nov. 10 (3:15 pm) at Middletown High School.

The winner of the semifinal will advance to Saturday’s 1:00 p.m. state finals at Middletown High School to face the winner of Aquinas Institute (Section 5) vs. Westhill (Section 3), the No.1 and No.2-ranked teams in NYS, respectively.

The Bobcats might have been sent packing by the state-ranked (No.9) Bulldogs (12-3-2) if not for the game-winning overtime goal from heroic Ryan Nichols, who has four goals in the last three games. This one came off a nifty assist from Emmett Wolland.

“Ryan Nichols has been a beast,” Allen said. “He’s knocked home some bangers in the last three games. He’s played right back. He played center mid. He’s all over the place and played a full 80-plus minutes.”

The game’s opening goal came from Billy Gillespie, another surging Bobcat, who has feasted in the postseason. Billy G scored off a feed from Chris Amenedo, who has done nothing but excel all season.

“Billy and Chris have finally started to play together,” Allen said. “They have come to understand each other’s patterns. This is Billy’s first year with us, so it took some time to come together but they have connected.”

Defensively, Connor Boekel was a stud in the midfield, according to Allen, and G Gavin Nichols made five saves.

“Honestly, the defense is made up of baseball and basketball players for the most part,” Allen said. “If anything is a testament to good athletes it’s our defense. Connor Boekel, Max Miller and Emmett Wolland have all been stellar, and Gavin has played really well in the net.”

Byram Hills opened the state tournament with a 4-1 victory over Section 4 champion Owego Free Academy at Hendrick Hudson High last Wednesday to advance to the regional finals.

Gillespie’s header just 53 seconds into the match off a choice cross from Ryan Nichols provided a quick lift for Byram, who caught the state-ranked (No.12) River Hawks off guard right off the bat.

It wasn’t too long, though, before Owego put up the equalizer at the 30:19 mark of the first half behind a goal from Connor Kinney.

A battle for another Bobcat opportunity was few and far between over the course of the next 50-plus minutes as both teams exchanged runs with little tilt of the field until Byram found a crease to tally and then rallied for three unanswered goals in a span of  10:03. Ryan Nichols netted the first of his two tallies off a header from a nifty cross by Eric Cipriano with 23 minutes left to give the Bobcats a 2-1 lead.

The icing on the cake came when the Bobcats offense provided a strong defensive ride that resulted in a steal and a lob into the mix by Cipriano that found the foot of Jacob Berland for a twine-tickling shot and a 3-1 lead three minutes later. Nichols tacked on a fourth goal and the River Hawks were cooked geese.

With Mineola on deck, soccer fanatics can expect an opposites-attract-type game, according to Allen.

“Mineola is the exact opposite of us,” the coach said. “They are very fast, shifty and well coached. We are big and burly but don’t back down from nothing. Long Island is the bastion of great soccer in New York, and we only have four seniors to go against that, but we’ll give it our all.”