Reaching another Section III Class B title game required Westhill to turn back its fellow Warriors from Clinton in Wednesday night’s Class B semifinal at Chittenango High School.
Thanks mainly to the speed and skill of Jayanna Monds, that task proved relatively simple and stress-free, Westhill knocking out no. 3 seed Clinton by a 4-1 margin.
Westhill had seen how Clinton had scored nine goals on Solvay in its Class B quarterfinal win on Oct. 24, and knew that, in order to counteract that potency, it had to show its own aggressive nature and not wait for scoring plays.
That fit perfectly for Monds, who entered the game with 15 goals on the season, but would start adding to that total just 2:36 into the game when she raced through Clinton’s defenders and put a shot past goalie Elizabeth Barch.
Just after Clinton missed a good chance to pull even at the nine-minute mark, Westhill’s Erin McMullen broke free a few minutes later and, taking a pass from Dana Radin, poured in goal to make it a two-goal margin, only to have Clinton answer in the 18th minute on a goal credited to Darby D’Angelo, though the ball went off defender Abbie Stack.
Still in front 2-1, Westhill quickly forgot that mistake and went right back on the attack. Monds got fouled inside the 18-yard box in the 22nd minute as she ran to the net, and the ensuing penalty-kick conversion restored the margin, 3-1, where it stood at halftime.
Having taken 14 first-half shots, Westhill knew it could keep getting good chances. That manifested itself five minutes into the second half as Monds, off a corner kick, beat Barch to complete her hat trick.
It also completed Westhill’s scoring. Despite Shelby Stack’s injury midway through the second half, her defensive teammates made sure Clinton didn’t make up any ground, Ariana Henberry well-protected as she earned seven saves, half Barch’s total.
While many expected Westhill to face Cazenovia for the sectional title, Lowville, the top seed, interrupted those plans with a 1-0 victory over the Lakers in last Tuesday’s other Class B semifinal.
Thus, it’s the Warriors against the Red Raiders in Friday night’s sectional final, which takes place at SUNY-Cortland and kicks off at 6:30.
