A 20-0 record, and a no. 2 state ranking, are wonderful accomplishments for the Jamesville-DeWitt girls soccer team. So is winning seven consecutive Section III Class A championships, even though the Red Rams are hopeful that this time it will finally translate into a first-ever state title.
That seventh sectional title was secured on a cold Friday night at SUNY-Cortland, where a pair of Alex Fontana goals, combined with a superb defensive effort, helped top-seeded J-D shut out no. 2 seed New Hartford 2-0.
All season long, the Rams had paid attention as New Hartford accumulated a 17-1-1 record and rose to no. 6 in the state Class A poll. Then both teams survived three rounds of sectional playoffs, the last one coming just 24 hours before the title game in Cortland.
Without any time to rest and recover, the Rams and Spartans kicked off, and quickly J-D seized control, owning most of the possession time, but finding few really good shots against a stout New Hartford defense.
Still, the Rams kept probing, and stayed patient. Then, with less than six minutes left in the first half, a corner kick deflected toward Fontana, who caught New Hartford goalkeeper Gabby Hobika out of position and slid a touch shot just inside the right post.
Carrying that 1-0 lead into halftime, J-D didn’t change its strategy, continuing to wait out the Spartans while its defense, led by Sophia Dimkopoulos, Elena Haarer, Chloe Hayward, Ciara Norris and Lainey Foti, closed up whatever lanes New Hartford tried to find. Goalie Katie Cappelletti only had to make eight saves.
In the 54th minute, the Rams earned another corner kick. Alex Epifani hit it from the left corner, the ball deflected by Alex Catanzarite straight to Fontana, who poured in the insurance goal.
Though the game turned more physical from there, and J-D didn’t score again, it had more than enough to earn a return trip to the state tournament.
This followed the Class A semifinal 24 hours earlier, at Chittenango, a game that looked, for a long while, safely in J-D’s grasp before no. 5 seed Homer, led by Kim Dieroff, turned it into a nail-biter than the Rams were glad to accept by a 3-2 margin.
By the time it took the field against the Trojans, J-D hadn’t played for a week. Instead of rust, it created a burst of energy for a Rams side that didn’t want to repeat its work in the previous round, where it waited until the second half to get on the board in a 5-0 win over CBA.
J-D’s multi-pronged attack caused all kinds of problems for Homer, leading to a first half where Catanzarite and Epifani both picked up a goal and assist, and Angela Bussone also found the net, with Fontana getting credit for an assist.
Most times, a 3-0 halftime lead would prove quite safe – but not against the Trojans. The normally stout Rams defense found itself twice beaten by Dieroff, whose pair of goals reduced a comfortable margin down to a single goal.
That, along with a renewed Homer defense, made things nervous down the stretch. But J-D, getting four saves from Cappelletti, held on, making it 19 wins in a row, and now could turn its attention to New Hartford after the Spartans downed Chittenango by a 3-1 margin in the other semifinal at Camden.
Once J-D proved triumphant against the Spartans, another state tournament appearance beckoned against another group of Spartans, one the Rams know all too well.
On Tuesday, J-D plays Section II champion Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake at Stillwater High School. It’s the sixth time in seven years that the Rams are meeting BH-BL in the state tournament.
Two regional wins are needed for the Red Rams to make a third visit to the state final four in the Cortland-Homer area, where it lost a crushing state semifinal to Somers a year ago.
