Seeking its first Section III title since 2002, the Chittenango girls soccer team came within two wins of that reality before its dream fell short.
In last Tuesday night’s Class A semifinal at Utica Proctor’s D’Allesandro Field, the no. 6 seed Bears were close all the way through with no. 2 seed Whitesboro, but a late goal made the difference as the Warriors prevailed by a score of 2-1.
Just as in its Class A quarterfinal win at no. 3 seed Camden on Oct. 28, Chittenango hoped that timely offense and a stingy defense would work against Whitesboro, who had the best record in the Tri-Valley League (14-2) this season.
For most of the first half, that seemed to work, as the two sides remained in a 0-0 deadlock. Then, just before the break, it got active.
Whitesboro’s Ashley Williams gave her side a 1-0 lead with 2:01 left in the half, the first goal Brigid St. Leger had allowed in the post-season. Then, seconds before halftime, Jenna Barber worked her way to the Warriors’ net and fired a shot past Warrior goalie Rachel Edgin, tying it 1-1.
As the second half wore on, it appeared St. Leger had again turned away all remaining chances, as she would finish with 12 saves. In the 67th minute, though, Williams returned to make a big play, passing it to Jenn Deuel, who put in the go-ahead goal.
Try as it could, Chittenango would not get back even, and Whitesboro advanced to meet defending champion Jamesville-DeWitt (who beat the Bears in last year’s semifinals) in the Class A championship game. This year’s Bears finished with a mark of 11-4-2.
