The Rye Boys Soccer team fell in the New York State championship game on Sunday, November 16, dropping a 2-0 decision to East Aurora. The Garnets outshot the Buffalo-area champions 13-2, but could not solve the Blue Devils’ keeper Charlie Finnerty.
Prior to advancing to the title game on Sunday, the Garnets crushed Glens Falls 4-0 in the State semifinals on Saturday, November 15. Rye battled brutal weather on both days, especially against Glens Falls. The Saturday contest propelled Rye to the precipice of a state championship in the late hours of the rainy night.
Semifinals vs Glens Falls (4-0 Win)
“Today threw a little bit of everything at us, and I think we showed our mental strength repeatedly,” Head Coach Jared Small said after the win. “When kickoff did finally happen, Rye weathered an initial push from Glens Falls before Connor Dehmer broke free in the 4th minute with a strong run and put a shot just past the right post.”
Dehmer’s initial chance was a sign of things to come, as Kasen Scarperi buried a chance on an assist from Lex Cox in the 9th minute to kickstart the scoring. Felix Wismer deposited a rebound in the 37th minute to extend the lead to 2-0, which held until halftime.
Scarperi scored his second of the night off a beautiful passing sequence, with Christian Hofmann, Alec Dodge Terra, and Peter Wilmot all appearing on the goal’s family tree off set-ups. The Garnets added one final tally late in the match to seal their clean sheet.
Following the win, Rye rushed to start preparation for their championship match, set for just 14 hours after the late-night finish against Glens Falls. “Tomorrow will be all about heart, guts, and wanting to cross the finish line after 10 months of work in the weight room, spring leagues, 6am summer track workouts, summer league trips to Lakeland, and 84 days of hard work this fall,” Small concluded.
Finals vs East Aurora (2-0 Loss)
“We brought everything we had to this championship match, and it hurts to end the season just short of the ultimate prize,” Small told MyRye.com. “Our preparation was first-rate and our players dealt with a lot this weekend. We were several crossbars, posts, and goalline clearances away from scoring three or four goals that first half, and even in those first 20 minutes of the second half it looked like ‘if we could just score one, we’d roll from there’. Things didn’t end as we hoped, but our journey from good team at the start of the season to great team by the end of the regular season to state finalists was one we will never forget.”
Unlike the semifinals, Rye could not defend against the first chance against of the game, as the Blue Devils scored in the very first minute of the match to go up 1-0. In a hole right away, Rye battled back in the second half to the tune of a 10-1 shot advantage and 5-1 corner kick advantage. They controlled possession and chances, but a crossbar from Felix Wismer in the 25th minute and two point blank saves from keeper Charlie Finnerty in the dying seconds of the half denied the Garnets an equalizer.
Playing into the wind in the second half, the Garnets started strong but began to fade as the match progressed. East Aurora’s second goal of the night in the 64th minute proved to deflate the balloon, as Rye could not generate any more dangerous looks before the final whistle.
Concluding Thoughts
Rye finishes the year a remarkable 19-2-3, ony losing to Byram Hills and East Aurora on the year and advancing to the State championship game for the first time since 1979. Despite coming up just short of their quest for a second NYS title (1975), the 2025 Rye Boys Soccer team will go down in program history as one of the best teams since their inception. Rye’s trip to one step below the pinnacle of Class A included a Regional title, Sectional title, and League title. They went on a 17-0-2 stretch between September 12 and November 15, and saw talented senior Lex Cox win Athlete of the Month for October amidst their best run of play. Throughout the year, Rye proved they were one of the deepest and most talented teams both in their own program history and in New York State in the year 2025.
