It was a hard-fought championship match between Chaminade and St. Anthony's on Wednesday afternoon in South Huntington, where the Flyers' season ended in a 2-1 defeat. The Friars established themselves with a great back line on defense and chance creators on the offensive side to secure the title.

The Flyers walked into James C. Metzger Stadium with a 7-5-1 record, having defeated Kellenberg 8-0 on Saturday at Gold Star Stadium to move on to the final.

The Flyers lost to the Friars in both regular-season matchups, but they were confident in their abilities before the opening kick.

"The focus is on us, rather than being on them," said head coach William Honan in a pregame interview. "There are good teams on both sides, and that is why this is such a great rivalry."

On the bus ride over to St. Anthony's, Coach Honan instilled the mindset of a champion to his players: "Know what is expected of you, and be ready. I want to see intensity!"

Honan also spoke to his defensive unit: "Use your strength when you are defending. If they are going to come into our box, make them work for it!"

His final message to the team focused on mindset: "Believe in yourselves, believe in all of the hard work that you put in all season, believe in your game. I believe in you - Let's go!"

A minute later, the match was underway.

Quickly off the jump, the Flyers had a chance. With their stifling press on the defensive end, the Flyers forced a turnover. Immediately a through ball was played for Yiannis Mountrakis. As he raced to track it down, St. Anthony's goalie Gabriel Rivas scooped up the ball to negate the scoring opportunity.

The next 10 minutes featured more of the same for the Flyers, who created various opportunities, the best two from Mountrakis. The first came off a steal that he immediately dished off to Alexander Nunez, who gave it right back to him. Streaming up the left side, Mountrakis booted it wide right.

The second was off a through ball. The outlet pass deflected off defenders and right to Mountrakis, who found a keeper out of position in front of his wide-open net. Out of seemingly nowhere, the Friars' Vincent Paraison sprawled in the air and knocked the ball away with his right foot, keeping the match scoreless.

As the first half continued, St. Anthony's started to find a groove and had two major chances in close. First, Lorenzo Barile drove past a Chaminade defender down the baseline and nailed a high shot towards Navarro, who knocked it off Barile and out of bounds. Then, a through ball found the feet of Ryder Mussler, who accelerated past a Flyers defenseman. When he was one-on-one with Navarro, Mussler lofted an attempt - floating in the air, the ball swung wide, and the Friars couldn't break through.

Further action for the Black and Yellow began with 10 minutes to play in half number one. Carlo Marcotrigiano weaved past Matthew Foraker into the box, leaving him with an open shot against Navarro. As Marcotrigiano slid towards the ball, he slipped and didn't get the best contact, forcing the shot wide to the right. 

With about five minutes to play, St. Anthony's was able to convert.

Parasion swerved down the right side on attack. As he scampered to the near post, he drew a slide from Navarro in his net. Immediately realizing this, Parasion bicycle-kicked the ball into the air and towards the middle, where a wide-open Barile was waiting. He easily knocked it in to give the Friars a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

It was a slow start to the second frame for both teams, as neither Chaminade nor St. Anthony's could generate much, but the momentum started to swing in Chaminade's favor around 10 minutes in.

Nunez quickly slotted the ball up the far side for Tyler Arma. On the run, Arma cut to the middle of the box, losing the ball and an opportunity in the process. Just a couple of moments later, it was Nunez again creating chances for his teammates. Curling to the middle, the freshman forward drew three defenders and reversed it to Yanni Gordon, who layered it to the back post, where the ball ricocheted off defenders. Bouncing on the turf, the ball tickled back to Gordon, who turned to try to fire, but he couldn't get a shot off. 

The intensity started to turn up about 10 minutes later, with both teams having close shots on net.

Chaminade had the first opportunity after a foul from St. Anthony's set up a free kick from about 30 yards out. Foraker skied it in the air towards the far post, but a jumping save was made by new Friars' goalkeeper James Virgilio.

St. Anthony's had the second chance, and it ended in a completely different result. Off a header from Chaminade, the ball bounced deep into the box. The Flyers' back line tried to corral it, but they couldn't find possession. With the defense spun around, Marcotrigiano had a seam to run up, and from five yards out, he tapped it in, extending the Friar lead to two.

Chaminade now had their backs against the wall, and with 20 minutes-and-ticking to play, their championship hopes were fading. 

After the goal, there were three minutes of rock-solid defense from St. Anthony's. The Flyers weren't able to establish much, but they found their spark two minutes later. 

Chaminade was rewarded with a free kick, and it was Foraker who decided to take it. From 30 yards out, he angled it perfectly to the near post, where Gordon was situated. Gordon leaped into the air and stuck his head out towards the lofting kick. As he made contact with the ball, he perfectly deflected it into the top-right corner of the net. Virgilio had no chance in net as Gordon cut the lead in half, 2-1.

The Flyers had hit their stride, and things began coming together in their offensive third. As multiple opportunities just wouldn't go, desperation increased. With time winding down, the Flyers needed a last-ditch effort.

Their final opportunity came off a long through ball. Gordon slashed it to Bryce Hsu, who strided to the ball with speed. Just before he could take a shot, however, Virgilio dived to vacuum the ball up.

Chaminade tried to move the ball up the field in the waning seconds, but they couldn't create anything up the pitch. The clock hit triple zeroes with St. Anthony's victorious.

"Our effort was really good," reflected Coach Honan after the match. "It is easy when you give up two goals to put your heads down, but we pushed through. We really had our best effort today."

"This group has a lot to be proud of," he added. "They had good results against powerhouse programs, handled adversity really well, and never quit - no matter what was thrown at them. I am very proud of them."