Guilderland wasn’t ready for the speed of Matt Bischoff and the Fairport Red Raiders.
Bischoff scored twice in the first half to help Fairport defeat Guilderland 3-1 in Saturday’s state Class AA semifinal game in Middletown.
Bischoff put the Red Raiders (19-0-2) ahead to stay with the first of his two goals, and his second tally less than seven minutes later put the game out of the Dutchmen’s reach.
`The thing they did really well was they came forward with more players than we’ve had to deal with all season,` said Guilderland coach Mike Kinnally. `Their athleticism in the midfield … they were the most athletic team we’ve seen.`
The Dutchmen (15-5-0) overcame an early Fairport goal to tie the score at 1-1 on Kledis Capollari’s first-half tally, and they had a chance to take the lead a short time later on a corner kick. However, the header glanced off the crossbar, and that was the last time Guilderland had the opportunity to gain the upper hand.
`I said to Arnie (assistant coach Arn Amstrong) that in another game, that would have been a goal,` said Kinnally.
The Dutchmen had another scoring chance go off the crossbar in the second half, and Fairport dodged several other Guilderland pushes to reach Sunday’s state finals.
`We made some changes (at halftime) that helped us,` said Kinnally. `I would have liked to score another goal, but they were such a great team.`
The loss ended Guilderland’s first trip past the Sectional playoff round in five years, and with several key starters graduating in June, the Dutchmen will have a number of holes to fill next fall.
`I’m just unbelievably proud of them,` said Kinnally. `It just made sense that they had such a great year because they’ve worked so hard towards this since they were 12 (years old). They were our first premier team (with the Dutchmen Football Club).`