MIDDLETOWN — The Chazy boys' soccer team is no stranger to the Final Four.

Alfred-Almond, however, was making its first trip to the Final Four on Saturday — and it showed.

Two-time defending NYSPHSAA Class D champion Chazy scored two goals in the first 11 minutes of the game and never looked back in a solid 3-0 victory in the semifinals at Middletown High School.

The victory sends Section VII champion Chazy, looking for its sixth state championship in the program's history, into today's 1 p.m. title game against Hamilton, who defeated Fort Ann 1-0.

"Our experience at this level is invaluable, and today was an example of that," Chazy coach Rob McAuliffe said. "I was happy with the way we played. We came into the game with a good mindset."

Top-ranked Alfred-Almond (18-2-2) was up against it from the start when Chazy nearly scored in the first minute of the game.

Chazy did get on the board with 7:16 gone in the first half on a goal similar to the one that gave Chazy a 1-0 lead over Section X's Parishville-Hopkintonn in the regionals. Nathan Reynolds' long throw-in from near the corner was headed into the net by Brandon Laurin.

The goal was the first that Alfred-Almond, the Section V champ, had allowed since Oct. 4.

"We came out strong and were able to get the first goal," Reynolds said. "That put us in good shape."

Chazy, which is ranked third in the state, made it 2-0 at 10:53 off a good individual effort by Hunter Dominy. Dominy took the ball down the right side, sent a hard shot on goal and followed it up to score on the rebound.

"At this level, it's critical to get the first goal," McAuliffe said. "And it was nice to get the second goal that early."

Chazy, which has not allowed a goal in postseason play play this year, relied on its defense the remainder of the first half as Alfred-Almond, with standout forward Markus Ernest leading the way, applied some pressure of its own.

"We played well the first 20 minutes of the first half and not so well the last 20 minutes," McAuliffe said. "It seemed like we were just running out the clock and needed to regroup."

"We pulled it together at the half and needed to keep it simple," Reynolds added.

Scoring two goals just to tie the game was enough of a mighty task for Alfred-Almond, and the task became nearly impossible when Chazy scored 18:56 into the second half for a 3-0 lead.

Laurin got the ball in front to freshman reserve Derek Drake, who sent a low, hard shot into the near corner of the net.

"We started to control things again in the second half," McAuliffe said. "When we scored the third goal, it was pretty much over."

Alfred-Almond was never able to get much going offensively the rest of the way as the majority of play was in its end of the field.

Chazy finished with a 10-7 advantage in shots, and netminder Austin Santor was strong with six saves. Patrick Chamberlain made six stops for Alfred-Almond, including a couple of nice ones in the first minute of the game.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we felt we could do well," Reynolds said. "We need to work hard in every game."

After losing one regular-season game to Plattsburgh High School and two to Willsboro, Chazy has been building momentum in the postseason.

"Two two losses to Willsboro have worked in our favor," Reynolds said. "It showed that nothing was going to be given to us. We have really stepped it up, especially on defense."

"We have one game left, and we need to win that one to achieve our goal," McAuliffe said. "We will need to play a great game."

—

Chazy 3, Alfred-Almond 0

Alfred-Almond     0 0 — 0

Chazy     2 1 — 3

First half- 1, C, Laurin (Reynolds), 7:16. 2, C, Dominy, 10:53.

Second half- 3, C, Drake (Laurin), 18:56.

Shots: Alfred-Almond 7, Chazy 10.

Saves: Chamberlain, A-A, 6. Santor, C, 6.