Again, the Cicero-North Syracuse field hockey is positioned to grab the Section III Class A championship that has somehow eluded the Northstars since 2006.
Amid a stretch of four games in seven days, the Northstars faced Liverpool last Tuesday night at Bragman Stadium, where it trailed for a long portion of the game before rallying to edge the Warriors 2-1 in overtime.
Records can matter little in any kind of sports rivalry, and this proved no exception, with C-NS, despite its 10-1-1 record at the time, given a major scare by a 3-11-1 Liverpool side it comfortably beat 3-0 in mid-September at LHS Stadium.
Carmen Canterino’s first-half goal, assisted by Danielle Wilson, pushed the Warriors in front 1-0, and it set out to protect that lead behind a much-improved defense anchored by goalie Abbie Bragan.
All told, Bragan made 11 saves, but in the second half C-NS finally put a shot past Bragan, and then did so again in the seven-on-seven OT period after regulation ended 1-1.
Allison Bartlett led that charge, earning one goal and assisting on the other by Katie Thies. Emily Kuehn assisted on Bartlett’s goal.
If nothing else, C-NS began the last week of the regular season with lots of momentum following its Oct. 6 trip to Cortland where it pummeled the Purple Tigers 5-0.
Even with a 2-0 halftime edge, the Northstars kept on adding to that margin, with Thies and Jamie Snyder each scoring twice. Bartlett had a goal and two assists as Thies, Molly Molchanoff and Mina Erikson had one assist apiece.
Then, after rallying past Liverpool, C-NS had to face reigning sectional Class C champion Holland Patent the next night at Bragman Staidum, and again proved tough as it edged the Golden Knights 1-0.
It was good that Emily Kuehn scored early in the game, since HP frustrated the Northstars the rest of the night, keeping them out of the net as Ella Buchanan finished with 10 saves.
Yet C-NS held the Golden Knights to three shots, all turned away by Ally Wagner. So the Northstars entered Friday’s regular-season finale against Rome Free Academy as confident as it had been all season.
To end this tough closing stretch, C-NS took on Rome Free Academy Friday night, and just like with Holland Patent it was a close battle that the Northstars were able to pull out, 2-1, over the Black Knights.
Though Kaitlyn Mastracco converted for RFA, her side was forced to defend most of the way, and C-NS broke through thanks to goals by Snyder and Gia Ditoma, with Allie Ball picking up an assist.
As it turned out, it was the prelude to a more important match on Oct. 23 as C-NS, the top seed in the sectional playoffs, meets RFA, the no. 4 seed, in the Class A semifinals at Baldwinsville’s Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. The winner goes to the Oct. 28 final against Baldwinsville or Fayetteville-Manlius.
