Perhaps the only downside of the Cicero-North Syracuse boys soccer team’s run to Section III Class AA championship was that it could not follow up and find its way to the state final four in Middletown.

The Northstars were denied that trip in a 1-0 defeat to Section II champion Ballston Spa in Saturday’s regional final at Colonie High School near Albany.

Contrasting C-NS’s 2-0 shutout of Baldwinsville in its sectional final on Nov. 2, the Scotties had to survive penalty kicks just to make it out of the Section II title game with Shaker, but each side had plenty of time to recuperate before squaring off with a trip to Middletown at stake.

Just as it was against B’ville, C-NS’s defense, led by seniors Austin Mizell, Matt Pike, Evan Gakeler and Ryan Gilbert was first-rate, keeping the game scoreless in the first half.

Though Each side had a fair amount of opportunities, they could not convert, the Northstars escaping danger when a Scotties shot in the 30th minute banged off the post.

As the game wore on, C-NS continued to run into fierce resistance, held to just five shots, all of them scooped up by Ballston Spa goalie Rylie Hall. All told, the Scotties have surrendered just two goals in its four post-season contests.

With 25 minutes left, a C-NS foul set up Ballston Spa’s Connor DeFilippis for a free kick. Already with 20 goals on the season, DeFilippis sent a curving shot that eluded Northstars goalie Matt Siegel and found the net, giving the Scotties the only goal it needed.

While Ballston Spa advanced to face Ithaca in Saturday’s state semifinal at Middletown, C-NS was disappointed, for sure, but could still bask in a 2015 campaign that put nearly a decade of sectional championship frustration behind them.

Now head coach Mike McCaffery will see 11 seniors depart, including Siegel, Mizell, Pike, Gakeler, Gilbert, Nick Bitz and Lucas Roberts, leaving a tall task for the remaining Northstars as it will seek back-to-back sectional titles in 2016.