All that is missing from the extraordinary recent run of the Jamesville-DeWitt girls soccer team is a state Class A championship.

For the second time in four years, the Red Rams got to the brink of that ultimate prize, but like in 2012, fell one victory short, falling 1-0 to Section XI champion Islip in Sunday’s state final at SUNY-Cortland.

Not only did the defeat derail a possible state title for the Rams, it also provided the lone blemish of teams a season that included 23 consecutive victories before the Buccaneers got in the way of no. 24.

Still, head coach Hayley Nies said her players should feel nothing but a sense of tremendous accomplishment.

“They should be proud and they should hold their heads up,” said Nies. “They went 23-1. Not many teams can do that.”

So much of J-D’s motivation this fall stemmed from dropping last year’s state semifinal to Somers at Tompkins Country Community College in Dryden, and then seeing the Tuskers go on to claim the title.

The Rams found itself back in Dryden in that same state semifinal round last Saturday night, this time against Section IX champion Goshen, and the result proved different, though it took an extraordinary defensive effort to claim a 1-0 victory over the Gladiators.

All season long, J-D’s back line of Sophia Dimkopoulos, Chloe Hayward, Ciara Norris and Elena Haarer had proved a team strength, and eighth-grader goalkeeper Katie Cappelletti had confirmed the Rams’ faith in her.

Against Goshen, who had knocked out both Somers and Vestal in penalty kicks during regional play, the defensive workload increased, partially because J-D got on the board early.

Just 4:22 into the game, the Rams’ attack paid off when Paige Sherling, taking a pass from Allie Balotin, delivered a shot from the point past Gladiators goalie Peyton Atkins.

By the middle part of the first half, though, J-D’s attack had quieted down, and Goshen gradually increased its pressure, something that the Rams would rarely break for the rest of the game.

So it was time for the defense to assume a larger role than normal, and they were up to it, especially in the second half, when the Gladiators sent more players forward in an all-out attempt to tie things up.

Norris made her biggest play in the 55th minute, deflecting a shot wide when Cappelletti was out of position. Dimkopoulos, Hayward and Haarer also made timely stops, and in the final two minutes Cappelletti had a pair of point-blank saves.

Great and satisfying as that win was, it also expended a lot of energy. J-D would have just 17 hours before it took the field again for the final against Islip, who had edged Williamsville East 1-0 in the other semifinal.

And the Rams did start slowly against the Buccaneers, but didn’t surrender anything as, again, the defense was in top form. Physical play by Islip led to a pair of free kicks for J-D that it could not convert, either.

In the 33rd minute, the Rams turned it over in its own end to Islip’s Mary O’Hara, whose quick pass found Alyssa Sparks. With her left foot, Sparks delivered a shot past Cappelletti to the top left corner of the net.

Again, J-D’s defense shone from there, making sure the Buccaneers didn’t add to its total, so it was up to an offense that had sparkled throughout the season to try and even matters.

But Islip stood in the way. Throughout the game, and especially in the homestretch when J-D tried to move more players forward, the Buccaneers’ back line clamped down, often using double teams on the likes of Sherling and Alex Catanzarite to deny any close opportunities.

Thus, just like in 2012, when powerhouse Rockville Centre South Side prevailed, a team from Long Island halted J-D at the last step before the summit.

Nies said that the hurt she felt for her players was most acute for her seniors, especially Sherling and Allie Balotin, who have played varsity since eighth grade and were a part of five of J-D’s seven straight sectional titles. But her entire team was a source of pride.

“Our kids did a great job,” she said. “And all 24 players contributed to it. I was hopeful we would win all the way to the end. It just didn’t work out for us.”