Without even having to make a pass or take a shot or record a save, the Morrisville-Eaton field hockey team clinched the outright Center State Conference East division crown.
That occurred when New York Mills, who still had a chance to catch the Warriors atop the standings, could only play Canastota to a 3-3 tie last Monday afternoon.
Having played well all through October, the Raiders kept applying pressure to Mills. Three different times, Canastota took the lead, at 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, only to see the Marauders rally each time and tie it.
The Raiders held on through 10 minutes of overtime to get the draw. Kissandra Blasier and Jessica Patterelli each had one goal and one assist, with Laura Palamara also scoring. Mackenzie Kutzuba recorded three saves.
M-E went out of league play last Monday and lost, 3-0, to New Hartford, managing just two direct shots as the Spartans’ Andrea Keady led her side with one goal and one assist.
Recovering on Wednesday, the Warriors edged Canastota 1-0, a game where the Raiders had a continual stream of chances in the first half, but could not move ahead as Jesse Woodruff made most of her eight saves during this stretch.
Both there, and in the early part of the second half, Canastota controlled the flow of play. M-E maintained the shutout, then attacked in the late going. With less than 10 minutes, Shelby Widger’s pass found Leigha Morris, whose shot eluded Kutzuba for the game’s only goal.
Hamilton, also going to the Class D playoffs, used an exciting finish to fight past Mohawk 1-0 last Monday and secure its own Section III playoff spot.
For 54-plus minutes of regulation, it remained scoreless, both sides getting equal numbers of chances as Emerald Knights goalie Megan VanAuken made eight saves.
All that changed with just five minutes to play, though, as Jessica Welch took a feed from Sara Whyatt and flung a shot past Mohicans goalie Christina Carroll for the game-winner.
As a follow-up, the Emerald Knights beat Sherburne-Earlville 2-1 on Wednesday, getting both goals from Welsh as Brook Furner assisted on each of the scoring plays. VanAuken only had to make four saves on this day.
In a 2-1 overtime victory over Ilion on Friday, Hamilton saw Welsh put together one goal and one assist, with Brook Furner getting the other tally as the Emerald Knights moved to 8-6-1.
This came as M-E was bashing Oneida 5-1, improving its mark to 12-3 behind Kate Verne’s pair of goals. Morris, Widger and Tiffany Goodwin also got goals, with Amber Smalley earning a pair of assists. Sarah Crowell chipped in with a single assist.
Canastota would sit at 9-5-1 in the wake of Friday’s 3-0 shutout over Mohawk. Taking 13 shot to the Mohicans’ two, the Raiders saw Patterelli find the net twice, with Sam Haumann getting the other goal and Blasier contributing an assist.
