With a chance to claim a second Section III Class B championship in the program’s brief history, the East Syracuse Minoa field hockey team will try to topple the same side it beat for that first title four years ago.
It is the no. 2 seed Spartans against top seed Camden in this Sunday’s title game at Fayetteville-Manlius, this following Wednesday’s semifinal games played on the Blue Devils’ home turf.
Camden went first and flattened New Hartford 7-0. Then it was ESM’s turn against no. 3 seed Whitesboro, the defending champions.
Remembering that the Warriors beat them a year ago in the sectional tournament, the Spartans got payback, as a combination of strong defense and timely scoring plays produced a 2-0 victory.
Having not played in 11 days, ESM may have felt some concern about early-game rust. Yet those concerns vanished 10 minutes into the first half when Lindsey Russell, taking a pass from Emma Schafer, fired a shot past Whitesboro goalie Jessica Mahardy.
For the rest of the half, the Spartans continued to apply plenty of pressure, yet could not add to that 1-0 lead. Mahardy was on her way to accumulating 12 saves, and as long as the margin remained a single goal, so did the danger of a Warriors response.
Charged with making sure there wasn’t an answer, ESM’s back line was solid and effective. For the game, Whitesboro managed just four shots, all stopped by Cory Palmer.
But the Spartans didn’t feel secure until deep into the second half. With nine minutes left in regulation, Gillianne McCarthy flashed open and lifted a shot past Mahardy for the all-important insurance goal.
Just before the playoffs started, ESM had defeated Fayetteville-Manlius. With a chance to play on its home field for the sectional Class A final, the Hornets had to turn around a pair of regular-season defeats to top seed Cicero-North Syracuse in Monday’s Class A semifinal at Baldwinsville’s Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
And there were times where the Hornets did outplay the Northstars, but it didn’t translate to any movement on the scoreboard as F-M lost, 1-0, to the Northstars.
When these teams met twice in September, the Hornets lost both of those games by 2-0 margins. Now, with both sides playing for the first time in more than a week, it quickly turned into a game ruled by the defenses.
F-M’s back line, led by juniors Liberty Clarke and Hannah Hall, did not give C-NS much room to work with, and Catherine Barr recorded six saves. However, every time the Hornets tried to attack, it met with similar frustration as it took just two shots all afternoon.
Thus, when a scramble off a penalty corner turned into Allie Ball’s goal midway through the first half, it provided a margin the Northstars were able to protect the rest of the way.
While its season ended with a 7-9 record, F-M could take comfort in the fact that Lindsey Kilpatrick is the only graduating senior. Every other starter could return in 2018, from Barr, Clarke and Hall in the back to the likes of Susan Bansbach, Stephanie Drapas, Libbie Kilpatrick, Sofia Melfi, Bella Militi and Paige Freyer.
