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COXSACKIE He may have been a little offsides, but the officials didn't see it that way and Johnstown's Nick Cannizzo netted the goal that put the game away.

Ninth-seeded Johnstown topped No. 8 Coxsackie-Athens 3-1 in the Section II Class B boys soccer tournament's first round Thursday.

The Sir Bills owned the majority of the possession and were working all day to get a pass to Cannizzo on a breakaway against the offside trap of Coxsackie. On a give-and-go with Sebastian Franco in the 73rd minute, he finally broke into the scorebook.

"It felt great in the end and, to go up 3-1, you've got to put it away," Johnstown's Nick Cannizzo said. "It felt good to put the game away and get our first sectional win since, I think, '96."

Johnstown coach Jon Jennings went back through the record books to track down the Sir Bills' last postseason win in 1996 and used that as motivation for his team before Thursday's game.

Throughout the game, Coxsackie employed an offside trap they sometimes pushed as far as 10 yards from midfield. Johnstown midfielders Tommy Horning, Dom Cote, Bruno Cote and Franco sent pass after pass through for teammates, trying to time runs with passes to create a 1-v-1.

"It took us a little while to get it down," Cannizzo said. "We eventually knew what they were going to do. Tommy and Dom made good passes all day and we were able to get to it."

The Sir Bills scored in the seventh minute when Horning avoided the trouble of timing by taking the ball and carrying it 20 yards past several defenders before finishing to the far side.

Even in the midst of their now-five-game winning streak, Jennings has said the Sir Bills have seemed content with one-goal leads. That was not the case Thursday, as Horning went right back at Coxsackie with a takeaway 20 yards from goal, carrying the ball up the left side before shooting wide right.

Still, the game went to the half tied after Coxsackie's Felipe Plotze scored in the 34th minute. He turned toward the goalmouth a few yards out on the left side as the nearest Johnstown defender slipped. Plotze took his time and banged his shot in off the far post.

Jennings said the key at the break was keeping his team calm.

"Even 1-1 at halftime, I think we were ahead on shots 14-4," he said. "We stressed for them not to push the panic button. If they stayed composed, they were going to get it."

Plotze almost slammed down on the Sir Bills panic button a few minutes into the second half.

Johnstown sweeper Ashton Day received a yellow card for delay of game, then about a minute later, Horning was called for a foul for taking down Coxsackie's Greg Deso in the 18-yard box.

Plotze lined up for the penalty kick, but Johnstown goalkeeper Nick Rovazzini made a diving save to his right to keep the game tied.

"It was a momentum changer," Cannizzo said. "It gave us all the momentum in the match. If he doesn't save that, we probably lose."

Rovazzini made seven saves in the game, while his counterpart Peter Russo made eight for Coxsackie (6-9-1 overall).

The Sir Bills responded in the 50th minute, when Bruno Cote's corner kick stayed low to the ground and skipped through the penalty area to Kieran McCoy, who finished for a 2-1 lead.

In the 73rd minute, Cannizzo got through the trap, slowed to control the ball and sent a short centering pass to his left for Franco. Franco reeled back for a shot, but didn't catch all of the ball, sending it fluttering a few yards forward where Cannizzo's one-timer took it out of the air and past Russo for the final score.

Next up for Johnstown (6-9-2 overall) is top-seeded Tamarac, Saturday at 11 a.m.

"Anyone who gets on that pitch is going to have to play their best game of the year," Jennings said. "I know one thing: These kids aren't going to back down. They're not scared of anything that gets thrown at them. That's why we've won five straight games. These kids are fearless right now."