After clinching the number-one playoff seed with a victory over Kellenberg on Tuesday, head coach Brian Anselmo emphasized to his team that the final game of the regular season against rival St. Anthony's should not be taken lightly.

"Even though we have clinched the number-one seed, we have to play with the same effort in South Huntington as we have all season," he reminded his squad. "St. Anthony's  will have a lot of motivation going into the match - not just because it's senior night for them, but also because they want to end the season with a big victory."

That tenacious mindset was a critical factor in the Flyers' wire-to-wire, 2-1 victory on Thursday night under the lights at Cy Donnelly Field.

The Flyers came into this one riding a five-game winning streak. They previously beat St. Anthony's 2-0 in their matchup on October 8th at Gold Star Stadium. In that match,  Chaminade was led by Jack Dorsey, who put up two goals on the day, as well as a ferocious back line which helped prevent the Friars from getting many opportunities to score.

Chaminade kept that same defensive intensity in this battle. 

Blake Donahue kicked it off for the Flyers after both teams took the pitch. After about a minute of back-and-forth play, the first chance of the game was created by St. Anthony's. 

With 38:50 remaining in the first frame, the end line of Chaminade reversed the ball back to goalkeeper Keegan Portsmore. With pressure in his face from the Friars' Christian Kelly, Portsmore tried to slide it over to one of his defensemen on the near side of the pitch.  From 20 yards out of his crease, Portsmore swept his right leg towards the ball, but missed it. 

Now with a wide open net in front of him, Kelly quickly snapped off a shot and gave the Friars an early 1-0 lead.  It was the first goal that Chaminade had surrendered since September 26th.

Just a few minutes later, the relentless Flyers had a quick answer. After Danny Bonilla found a streaking Blake Donahue down the right side, Chaminade had a two-on-one from just outside the box.

Donahue accelerated towards the net and drew a slide from the one defender who was back for St. Anthony's. Realizing that, the Chaminade senior crossed it to the doorstep for a cutting Jack Dorsey, who did the rest and tapped it in from five yards out, tying the score at one.

The Flyer faithful erupted in the stands as Chaminade regained the momentum of the match.

Over the next 15 minutes, Chaminade went back to their bread and butter, controlling the time of possession. It is what they have done best all season, and it allowed them to control the pace of Thursday night's game.

St. Anthony's wasn't able to establish any rushes towards the net, but neither was Chaminade.

That changed around the 17-minute mark in the first half.  Chaminade began to create a netfront presence, and they fired a flurry of shots on opposing goalie Cole Lawrence. 

Dorsey had a shot from just outside the box after the ball ricocheted to him.  Immediately after, Charles Reina drilled a shot on Lawrence, but the ball went high off the goalpost and behind the net.

A couple of minutes later, Antonio Testani found a slicing Kevin Duffy for a chance, but he also couldn't convert, as his shot was blocked. 

The momentum quickly swung for a short spurt of time with around 12 minutes to play in the first half. After forcing a series of throw-ins, St. Anthony's was able to move the ball down the field. 

In the right corner of the pitch, Patrick Kenna of the Friars crossed the ball in front. Pinballing off footies, the ball trickled near the goal line. It was about to roll in and give St. Anthony's the lead, but Portsmore raced over to knock it out of play.

After that scary play, the Flyers regained their footing in the attacking third, finding numerous opportunities in the final 10 minutes of the frame. The best of them was from Dorsey, who was trying to tally his second goal of the game when he played the ball to himself in order to deke a defender in the middle of the field. This opened up space for him to swing it on net with time and room.

A left-footed shot, Dorsey powered it on with force, but the ball went off the crossbar and out of bounds. 

To end the half, Dorsey had yet another chance from the far corner, but that shot was headed up in the air as the horn sounded.

After intermission, the Flyers came out rolling.

Just over two minutes into the second frame, Chaminade created multiple opportunities for themselves. The greatest of these came from Donahue, who found space from 15 yards out in the middle of the pitch but nailed his attempt off the crossbar and out. 

The Flyers continued to apply the pressure offensively and finally broke through two minutes later.

With 35:30 to play in the match, the ball found Jack Veletanga, who knifed through the defense with both the space and time to decide where to put the ball. He drove down the left and crossed it towards the near post, where the ball bounced around before being taken by the left foot of Donahue. 

With little room to fit it into the near corner of the net, Donahue decided to test Lawrence with a quick shot on goal. The sheer velocity of the ball pushed it past the keeper and into the back of the net, giving Chaminade a 2-1 lead. 

"He was excellent. He was focused for the entire 80 minutes," said Anselmo of Donahue's effort. "He is the best forward in the league, and he showed it today."

The next 22 minutes featured very few scoring chances, as Chaminade held its own in the defensive end and forced long shots from St. Anthony's.

Around the 12-minute mark, the Flyers found a little spark on the offensive end. After Dorsey dished it off to Testani, the senior quickly tapped it over to a cutting Donahue, who maneuvered his way to the middle of the pitch and, from 10 yards out, uncorked a missile on net. The shot was blocked, resulting in Chamnade resetting things on the back line.

Just two minutes later, Bonilla dumped it off to a streaking Testani. Up the left side, he weaved to the middle of the pitch, and fired the ball from 15 yards out. His shot swung wide, as Chaminade still unable to put the game away.

With under 10 minutes to play, the Flyers' focus switched to the defensive end. Their intensity turned up, and Portsmore was a wall in net. Gobbling up countless balls that were skied near the net, the keeper wouldn't let anything go past him. 

"Keegan had a tough first half. Sometimes that happens, but we were really happy with how he handled the second half," said Coach Anselmo. "He took command of his box and shut down the opportunities at hand."

With just 20 seconds left, St. Anthony's had a throw-in from the near side in their attacking third. The ball was knocked around near the net, and multiple Friars had a shot at firing it on. Just before the ball trickled in the direction of Portsmore, an offsides penalty was called as time expired, sealing the victory for the Flyers.

Chaminade now embarks on the postseason with aspirations of greatness.

"We need to keep working hard and recognize that nothing is going to be given to us," said Coach Anselmo. "Everyone needs to have his best effort. Every game is the most important game of the season when we play it. Take it one game at a time."

Chaminade will begin its postseason journey with a match against St. John the Baptist's Cougars in the semifinals of the NSCHSAA playoffs on Tuesday. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. at Cantiague Park.

As for St. Anthony's, they will face Kellenberg on Tuesday at home in their semifinal match before a potential rematch with the Flyers on Election Day.