ONONDAGA COUNTY – What was true at the start of the last week of the field hockey regular season remained the case at the end of it – the path to a Section III Class A championship would go through top seed Cicero-North Syracuse.
However, the Northstars do not go there unblemished, thanks to its rivals from Liverpool.
In a superb all-around effort Wednesday night at Bragman Stadium, the Warriors stunned C-NS 1-0 and, by doing so, clinched its own sectional playoff berth.
On the surface, such a result didn’t seem too likely. Not only was C-NS 12-0, it had scored at least five goals seven different times and shut out eight previous opponents.
Yet Liverpool took a fair amount of momentum into this contest, having just knocked off reigning sectional Class B champion Holland Patent 1-0 as part of a recent stretch of three wins in four games.
What was more, when these teams first met Sept. 21, it was only a 2-0 decision, so the Warriors’ defense felt it could contain the potent Northstars attack – and would do so.
All through the night, Liverpool’s back line, led by Emily Nestor, Emma Esposito, Katia Flavin and Joelle Wike, flicked away possible C-NS scoring chances, only allowing four direct shots stopped by Lana Webber.
Modest in its own attack, the Warriors waited through a scoreless first half. Then, in the third quarter, Mia Berthoff put in an unassisted goal and, with an all-out effort, Liverpool was able to preserve that slim margin the rest of the way.
Liverpool arrived at C-NS with newfound confidence after its win over Holland Patent.
Despite the Golden Knights’ 10-3 record, it could not get on the board, thwarted by a Warriors defense that limited it to just six shots, all stopped by Webber.
That defense finally paid off in the fourth quarter when, amid a Liverpool attack, Berthoff, previewing her central role in the C-NS win, managed to push a shot past HP goalie Lily Boris that proved the game-winner.
Then Liverpool watched as C-NS unloaded on visiting Cazenovia a night before it faced the Warriors, the Northstars not letting up until it had recorded a 7-0 victory.
Many players shared the scoring responsibilities as Shannon Brown, with a three-goal hat trick, led the way. Gabby Wameling had a goal and two assists as Wagner, Addie Esce and Camryn Jacobs each got one goal and one assist. Eva Farone also had an assist.
Concerns about C-NS only seemed to grow when, two days after the loss to Liverpool, it got shut out again, 1-0, this time by the Canastota Raiders.
All game long, the Northstars put on heavy pressure, only to get turned away by Canastota goalie Alyssa Boneau, who stopped all 15 shots she faced. Avery Richardson had six saves, but gave up the only goal of the night when Julianna Dimao converted for the Raiders off a feed from Megan Trujillo.
Despite the rough way the season ended, C-NS still had the top playoff seed, but it might face Liverpool again in next Sunday’s semifinals at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill if the no. 5 seed Warriors upend no. 4 seed Fayetteville-Manlius in next Wednesday’s opening round.
