Another Section V boys soccer season has arrived. What's to come is three-plus months of action on the pitch, from the big saves to pinpoint plays.
Before a look-ahead to the upcoming campaign, a review from last fall. Section V sent two teams to their respective state final last year. Fillmore was declared co-champions in Class D, while Fairport fell in the final for Class AAA.
Section V's 2025 championship games
- Class AAA: Fairport 4, McQuaid 1
- Class AA: Churchville-Chili 2, Penfield 0
- Class A: Pittsford Mendon 1, Pittsford Sutherland 0
- Class B: Hornell 2, LeRoy/Cal-Mum 1
- Class C-1: Williamson 2, East Rochester 1
- Class C-2: Naples 2, Kendall 0
- Class D-1: Fillmore 1, Northstar Christian Academy 0
- Class D-2: Avoca-Prattsburgh 3, Andover-Whitesville 2
Here are five questions for the upcoming Section V boys soccer season:
Question No. 1: What are the classifications this season?
There will be seven classifications in 2026, down one from last season. Class C will be split in two, while Class D returns to a single bracket.
Class AAA: East/Monroe/School Without Walls, Edison/Padilla/School of the Arts/World of Inquiry, Fairport, McQuaid, Penfield, Rush-Henrietta
Class AA: Brighton,
Brockport, Canandaigua, Churchville-Chili, Eastridge, Gates Chili, Greece Arcadia, Greece Athena, Hilton, Irondequoit, Pittsford Mendon, Spencerport, Victor, Webster Schroeder, Webster Thomas, Wilson/Early College
Class A: Batavia, Geneva, Greece Olympia, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Midlakes/Red Jacket, Newark, Pittsford Sutherland, Rochester Prep, Vertus, Wayne
Class B: Attica/Alexander, Aquinas, Cal-Mum/LeRoy, Dansville, Gananda/Marion, Haverling, Hornell, Letchworth/Warsaw, Livonia, Mynderse, North Rose-Wolcott, Palmyra-Macedon, Penn Yan, Sodus, Waterloo, Wayland-Cohocton, Wellsville
Class C: Addison, Avon, Bishop Kearney/Chesterton/Archangel, Bloomfield-Honeoye, Byron-Bergen/Elba, Campbell-Savona/Bradford, Canisteo-Greenwood, Cube-Rushford, Dundee/Hammondsport, East Rochester, Genesee Valley-Belfast, Geneseo, Holley, Kendall, Keshequa, Lyndonville/Barker, Naples, Pavilion/York, Pembroke, Perry, Red Creek, South Seneca/Romulus, Wheatland-Chili, Williamson
Class D: Alfred-Almond, Andover, Arkport/Canaseraga, Avoca-Prattsburgh, CG Finney, Friendship-Scio, Jasper-Troupsburg, Lima Christian, Mt. Morris, Northstar Christian
Question No. 2: Who are this year's returning All-Greater Rochester selections?
The Democrat and Chronicle recognized 17 players for first-team All-Greater Rochesterlast year. Fourteen of them, including reigning player of the year Alex Grejda (Fairport), graduated. That suggests plenty of new faces will rise up this fall.
The three returner AGR picks are all top-notch strikers.
Connor Betrus, Naples senior: Last year's Finger Lakes-West Player of the Year helped the Big Green claim the Class C-2 section title.
Lucas Cariola, Churchville-Chili senior: A first-team selection in Monroe County-III, Cariola posted 15 goals and 13 assists as Churchville-Chili won the Class AA section title.
Elijah Doell, Mynderse senior: Led Section V in goals scored and was the Finger Lakes-East's top player.
Returning second-teamers include: Finn Halpin (Batavia), Declan Lavrynenko (Webster Thomas) and Brock Stephany (Fairport).
Question No. 3: Who are the new coaches this fall?
With each season comes new leadership on the sidelines. This fall, 20-plus teams turn to new coaches. Few are more notable than the changes at Aquinas, Hornell and Livonia.
Ray Maxwell coached the latter for 36 years and retired as Section V's all-time wins leader with 579 victories. He also led Livonia to 14 section titles — including six straight from 2012 to 2017 — and a state title.
Livonia tabbed Ryan Humphrey as the new head coach. Humphrey has 19 years of coaching experience at varsity and JV, with previous stops at Livonia, Mt. Morris and Warsaw.
Josh Gleason, an Aquinas graduate, announced his exit toward the end of last season. He led the Lil Irish to the Class A state title and an undefeated season in 2023.
His replacement is another alum of the school. Konrad Zydowicz graduated in 2013 and was the varsity team's captain as a senior. After high school, Zydowicz played Division I at Niagara University and professionally for the Rochester Lancers. He was previously the girls varsity head coach at Bishop Kearney.
Jim Tobin coached Hornell for 40 years and recorded nearly 400 wins and several sectional titles. His duties will now be split by Caden Dunham and Zach Haynes.
Question No. 4: What are the new teams and mergers this season?
Several schools in the Finger Lakes and Steuben County leagues are changing merger partners this season, as previous partners Dundee/Bradford and Campbell-Savona/Hammondsport are no more.
Instead, Dundee is merging with Hammondsport and will compete in Finger Lakes-West, while Campbell-Savona teams with Bradford and will play in Steuben County.
"Our athletes have worked hard this summer to establish relationships and build chemistry. Both communities are thankful for this new partnership and we are excited to be able to field competitive teams at all three levels," said Jim Dillon, who is co-coaching Dundee/Hammondsport with Kevin Davis.
Bloomfield-Honeoye and Gananda/Marion are also new mergers for this fall. South Seneca/Romulus and Vertus are back at the varsity level following absences last season.
Question No. 5: Is there a new contender in Class AAA?
Fairport and McQuaid have dueled in the Class AAA section championship every year since New York state introduced the classification in 2023. Thanks to a bump in BEDS numbers for 2026-27, a new potential contender might upset the apple cart.
Penfield, last year's Class AA finalist, has made the jump to the highest classification this fall. The Patriots (10-6-2 last season) seek their first section title since 2020.
For the time being, Fairport remains the top dog. The Red Raiders have reached consecutive Class AAA state title games, winning it all in 2024. Last year's group fell to Section XI's Commack by a goal in the championship which ended the program's 37-match unbeaten streak.
— Justin Ritzel works as a sports reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on Section V athletics and high school trends.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Five questions for the 2026 Section V boys soccer season
