Sports

Hill tops Sea to stay perfect, move closer to division crown

Sure it was the final score of a three-goal win, but none may have been more telling or important.

With St. Joseph Hill already comfortably ahead, Meghan Siller sent a long pass up the middle of the field and through the St. Joseph by the Sea defense. Star forward Gianna Smith, who missed the first three games with a leg injury, went untouched while sprinting past three defenders to the ball.

“We just found the holes and put it through,” said Smith, a junior.

She quickly dribbled and calmly deposited the ball into the back of the net in the 43rd minute. The goal gave the Hilltoppers a 3-0 win over rival St. Joseph by the Sea in the pouring rain in CHSAA Staten Island girls soccer at Miller Field Thursday afternoon.

Hill, ranked No. 1 in the CHSAA by The Post, won the first meeting,1-0, and is now two wins from clinching a second straight division title.

“I think we are going to all the way this year,” Smith said. “This team is one of the best teams that Hill has seen.”

That includes getting a few breaks, which Hill got in the opening minutes. Siller took a free kick straight on from 25 yards out. As the ball hit the slick grass in front of Sea goalkeeper Christie Colangelo, it didn’t bounce up as expected. Instead, it skidded and took an awkward short-hop and went through her legs to put Hill ahead in the 11th minute.

“I got lucky,” said Siller, who has been excellent on set pieces. “I’m not going to lie. I just shot it as hard as I could.”

The Hilltoppers (7-0-0) quickly added a second goal. This time it was Smith providing the through ball up the middle. Victoria Chirico ran on to it, dribbled about 25 yards and scored to the lower left corner in the 18th minute to make it 2-0. Hill still didn’t feel safe until Smith’s second-half tally after watching Sea, ranked eighth, scored two late goals to rally past Notre Dame Academy last Friday.

“There was no reason why they can’t do the same against us,” Hilltoppers coach Tom Siller said. “The third goal was a huge goal.”

His defense and strong midfield play, led by the playmaking of Meghan Siller, his granddaughter, and Krista Spano, severely limited the Vikings (6-2-0) attack. Sea’s best chance came in the 48th minute when Jessica Walsh crossed the ball to the far post to a charging Kelly Oehm, but Hill keeper Kristy Ricca made a leaping save.

“When they are working as a unit they are very good,” Tom Siller said of his defense.

He can say the same about his entire squad. In the preseason they talked about feeling the pressure of trying to repeat history and win another division title, a year after winning their first. The smile and celebration after means some of that burden is being lifted as they see completion of that goal in front of them now.

“It hard to hold on to a win,” Meghan Siller said. “It’s hard to keep an Island title and go on to state again. This is definitely big for us.”