And so 10 Section III girls soccer teams will be making the journey down I-81 to SUNY-Cortland, all of them in hot pursuit of Section III titles.
Ideally, this is just the first visit to the Cortland area for all these contenders. They want to be back Nov. 20-21 for the state final four. First, though, we have this quintet of title games.
The first act at 3 p.m. features C-1 champ Sauquoit Valley against C-2 champ Bishop Ludden. Their respective banners were gained Wednesday at Chittenango in different ways - Ludden hanging on against Utica-Notre Dame 2-1 (a late Juggler shot went off the post), Sauquoit staying unbeaten by crushing Tully 8-0. Based on that, the Indians must be favored...but the Gaelic Knights won't carry fear, that's for sure.
Starting at 4 p.m., it's Watertown IHC against Lowville, a north-country duel for the Class B crown. They're still buzzing about how the Red Raiders, down 3-0 to Solvay at the half of their semifinal at Carthage, scored four straight to win 4-3 and break the Bearcats' hearts. The Cavaliers needed no rallies - it just shut down defending champ Westhill. As familiar Frontier League foes, IHC and Lowville should produce a close contest. It might come down to who conquers the nerves of playing in a title game for the first time.
At 5 p.m., F-M meets CBA to settle the Class AA championship. After all the upheaval of the early rounds, the semifinals at Marcellus proved more orderly, as CBA (even without Caitlin McConnell) used two late goals to upend West Genesee 2-0, and F-M used a pair of Sara Rothschild tallies to get rid of Auburn by that same margin. The Hornets, absent a title for 13 years, must keep up its much-improved defense in the face of the fast and flashy Brothers.
Then at 6 p.m., McGraw, just as unbeaten as Sauquoit Valley, tries to get its fourth Class D title in seven years against Remsen. The Eagles, so dominant for most of the season, handled Poland 3-1 in the semifinals as the Rams held off Copenhagen 1-0. Both McGraw and Remsen were disappointed in '08, falling just short of the summit. Somebody will erase that disappointment.
The finale at 7:30 provides an unlikely neighborhood clash between J-D and ESM in Class A. As if knocking off top seed Whitesboro wasn't enough, the Spartans then dethroned two-time champion Cortland via the dreaded shoot-out. J-D dominated Watertown, yet still escaped a 1-0 verdict, and upon first glance the Red Rams have to feel good, since it dominated ESM in both regular-season acts. The third act could change everything....
CATEGORY: Soccer (Football)
TAGS: Section III, girls soccer, recap, finals preview
