Nick Susko ripped a shot passed goalie Jackson Brown with 2:58 to play to give
Holy Trinity (Hicksville, N.Y.) the lead for good in its 7-5 victory over Bishop Timon-St.Jude (Buffalo) in the New York State CHSAA AA Final at Kellenberg High School. Junior Mike Plaia scored two goals for the Titans.
Susko was happy to redeem himself after struggling a bit. "It felt great to score the game winning goal," Susko said. "I wasn't hitting my shots, and when I received the pass from Olson I looked around and saw that I had time and room to shoot." Susko also scored the winner in the semifinal game.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Layne Collins scored. Holy Trinity responded with a goal from Pat Candon. However, Adam Dimillo scored two goals for Bishop Timon-St.Jude as the Tigers took a 3-2 lead after one quarter.
Nick Olsen started off the scoring in the second quarter for the Titans on a feed from Susko. At the half, the score was tied at 3-3.
Holy Trinity jumped ahead in the third on a goal by senior Nick Ferriero. But, Dimillo answered with his third of the game to knot the game at four apiece.
The Titans jumped out to a 5-4 lead when Plaia scored. Once again, Bishop Timon-St. Jude answered . North Carolina-bound Brian Sullivan made the score 5-5.
Plaia knew it was important to play with a sense of urgency late in the game. "I realized that we came this far," Plaia said. "I couldn't let my team down, so I stepped up and helped achieve our season long goal of being state champs. It feels great to be a part of this wonderful team. I'm going to miss them."
The Tigers, who got 16 saves from Brown, finished at 17-4.
MaxPreps Student Section
