CORTLAND – Three different Section III girls soccer championship games brought three different local teams a chance at glory. Two of them got there, and one almost did.
With a dramatic goal late in the second overtime period, West Genesee upended East Syracuse Minoa 2-1 in the sectional Class AA final, while in the Class B final Cece Powell’s early surge propelled Marcellus past Christian Brothers Academy 2-0 in the Class B final for its first championship since 2015.
Deep into the second of two 15-minute OT periods, ESM and WG were locked into a 1-1 tie. Then, with five minutes left, Spartans standout Leah Rehm ripped a shot from the right side that eluded Wildcats goalie Julia Poissant, but hit the crossbar.
Had it stayed 1-1, the two sides would be declared co-champions and go to penalty kicks to determine the state tournament representative. But WG put on a last-minute attack and, with 16 seconds to play, Maria Snyder headed it from the right to Anna Nelson, who put it into the right side of the net.
From the outset, ESM controlled most of the flow of play, forcing WG to play a defensive style similar to the one used to play the Spartans to a 0-0 draw in the season opener two months earlier.
Soon, though, the Wildcats did settle in, attacked more – and in the 17th minute, it paid off when a pass from the left sprung Nelson up the middle and, working around the last defender, put a shot past ESM goalie Julianna Orcutt.
For the rest of the half, the Spartans had scattered opportunities that it could not convert. But Leah Rehm helped ESM break through less than six minutes into the second half, taking a pass from Bailey Rehm and putting a long shot past Julia Poissant to tie it, 1-1.
For much of the rest of regulation, the Spartans were parked in WG’s end, constantly threatening yet effectively turned back. Neither team got a close-up scoring chance in the first 15-minute extra period, either, despite some free kicks.
Both sides had closer free-kick chances in the second OT that weren’t converted before the stunning late sequence where Rehm got so close to a game-winner – but Nelson actually accomplished it.
Only Westhill, in Class A, was unable to prevail, denied by a goal in the waning seconds of regulation as New Hartford prevailed, 3-2, for its third consecutive sectional title.
Contrasting all the drama of the Class AA final was what Marcellus did in Class B. It had split two regular-season meetings with CBA, dropping a 2-0 decision to the Brothers just 2 1/2 weeks before they clashed again with a sectional title at stake.
But the Mustangs, in the form of Powell, had a player that could take over with her vast skill set. She did so by blowing past the Brothers’ defenders for a breakaway goal just 8:11 into the game.
Then, just past the 16-minute mark, Powell again made her way past the CBA back line and put it past goalie Cara Macaluso, giving Marcellus a two-goal margin it had little trouble protecting the rest of the way.
Westhill’s task was a large one. New Hartford was undefeated and had lost just one game in four years – an overall 63-1-2 record – and got in front here, too, when in the 23rd minute freshman Liz Rayhill picked up the dribble at midfield, zoomed past two Westhill defenders and, one-on-one, beat Emma Falcone on the left side.
Just two minutes later, it was 1-1, Westhill’s Rosie Mahoney picking up the ball from the point and, from 20 yards out, crushing a shot into the top-right corner. Then, just 26.8 seconds before halftime, Elle Herrera converted off a cross from the left side by Hannah Goodness.
That put the Warriors in front 2-1 going to the break and, energized by this turnaround, Westhil jumped out early in the second half, increasing its pressure but not able to add to its one-goal margin.
With 16:40 left, a free kick by Kara Rosenberger clanged off the crossbar. Instead of a 3-1 margin, Westhill soon found itself tied again when Taylor Falcone couldn’t hold on to Kacey Richards’ long shot and Maddy Truax put in the rebound.
New Hartford controlled the latter stages of regulation. And just when Westhill appeared to weather it and get to overtime, with 19.4 seconds left Olivia Vitullo curved a long shot from the right side that, screened by a Spartans player, Falcone could only watch curl inside the left post for the game-winner.
