Trey Jasenski etched his name in Mohonasen High School varsity sports lore.
The senior scored a goal and assisted on three more to lift the Mighty Warriors past crosstown rival Schalmont 4-0 in last Saturday’s Section II, Class A boys soccer championship game at Colonie Central High School.
He’s just a great player, and he just has a sixth sense that no one else has, said Mohonasen coach Josh Gregg. `I knew Schalmont would mark him, and he was able to find other people open today.`
Jasenski got things going early for the Mighty Warriors (13-8-1). A.J. Przekop launched a long free kick on goal, and Jasenski was there to head the ball past Schalmont goaltender Mike Azzaro to put Mohonasen ahead 1-0 5:26 into the first half.
`I just saw it (coming) and headed it in. It was perfect,` said Jasenski.
Schalmont (11-5-0) tried to respond in the first half, but Mohonasen’s defense wouldn’t let the Sabres get anything going. Any time Schalmont challenged in Mohonasen’s half of the field, a Mighty Warrior was there to kick the ball out of harm’s way.
`They defended us very well,` said Schalmont coach Jason Beck. `The effort was there (on our part) ` it just didn’t go our way today.`
Schalmont’s defense did its best to bottle up Jasenski, but that left other Mohonasen players open. And it was only a matter of time before Jasenski started finding those open players.
Jasenski struck gold early in the second half. After a wild series of Mohonasen shots led to a corner kick, Jasenski lofted a pass into Schalmont’s penalty box, where German exchange student Felix Bransch stood. Bransch headed the ball past Azzaro into the net to give the Mighty Warriors a 2-0 lead.
`I just created space for myself,` said Jasenski. `My teammates rewarded me for it, and I rewarded them back (with assists).`
Schalmont tried again to get back into the game. Joe Amrosi had a pair of scoring chances a short time after Bransch’s goal, but his first shot went wide and his second attempt was stopped by Mohonasen goaltender Josh Gray.
True scoring chances were hard to come by for Schalmont, though, as Mohonasen’s defense continued to deny the Sabres good looks at the goal.
`Mohonasen wanted it more than we did,` said Beck. `They came out hard and moved the ball around very well.`
The Mighty Warriors capped their victory with a pair of insurance goals, both of which came from perfect passes from Jasenski. First, Jasenski sent a cross to a hard-charging Stephen Coughlin, who then knocked the ball past a drawn-out Azzaro. Ten minutes later, Jasenski lofted a pass to Bransch, and Bransch converted for his second goal of the evening.
`I was free in front of the goal, and Trey found me,` said Bransch.
When the final horn sounded, Mohonasen had its first Sectional soccer title in more than three decades, not to mention bragging rights in the town of Rotterdam.
`It means a lot to me to beat this team,` said Gregg, who is a Schalmont High School graduate. `But, it means a lot more to these guys,` he added while looking at his Mohonasen players.
The Mighty Warriors advanced to Wednesday’s Class A regional semifinal against Section III champion Fulton at Chittenango High School in central New York.“