A furious comeback – and an accurate shot in the clutch by Belle Hoagland – helped the Cazenovia field hockey team secure a berth in the state Class C final four.
The Lakers needed to rally from a one-goal deficit to defeat Greenwich, 2-1, in Saturday’s Class C regional final at Shenendehowa High School in suburban Albany – this despite having a majority of the chances on a sun-drenched afternoon.
This game would prove even more dramatic than Tuesday’s 3-1 regional win over Whitney Point, not settled until Hoagland converted a penalty stroke with just less than two minutes left in regulation.
That it even got to that point was a tribute to Greenwich’s freshman goalie, Samantha Whitehouse. All Whitehouse did in the first half, in the face of relentless Cazenovia pressure, was stop all 10 of the shots she faced.
Rarely did the Witches get the ball out of its own end. But late in the first half, Greenwich’s Dani DiGregory, who had 48 goals on the season, attacked hard and, when her shot hit a Cazenovia defender in the chest, DiGregory earned a penalty stroke.
DiGregory’s high shot beat Emily Mastropaolo with 25 seconds to go in the half, and just like that Cazenovia was behind 1-0, the first time in the entire post-season that it had trailed.
All that did was increase Cazenovia’s determination, and it had a full string of opportunities early in the second half, only to see seven different penalty-corner attempts come up empty.
Finally, on the eighth try with 11:19 to go, EmmaJean Spear’s pass found Tori Widrick, who crushed a shot past Whitehouse to tie it at 1-1. It was Widrick’s 30th goal of the season.
Greenwich had one great chance to regain the lead late in regulation, only to see DiGregory’s shot careen off the post. Saved by the close call, the Lakers resume its all-out assault as the final minutes ticked away.
It all got decided when, amid the Lakers’ 16th penalty corner of the match with 1:40 left, Whitehouse, who had 18 saves on the day, trapped a shot in her pads instead of kicking it away. That meant a penalty stroke for Hoagland, whose touch shot eluded a diving Whitehouse and found the cage.
From there, the Lakers held on – and earned its ticket to the state semifinals. On Friday, Cazenovia faces Section I champion Briarcliff (who ripped Rhinebeck 7-0 in its regional final) at 11:30 a.m. at Bragman Stadium. The winner goes to Saturday’s final, which is set for 10 a.m.