ONEONTA – Greene has thought of itself as a state-championship caliber team, and now it has the opportunity to prove that mentality.
After back-to-back losses in the sectional finals to eventual state champion Maine-Endwell in 2004, 2005, the Trojans won their first Section IV field hockey title since 2002 beating Whitney Point, 3-1, Friday night at Oneonta State in the Class A finals.
Greene (14-3), whose only losses this season have come to Maine-Endwell and Marathon – Class B and C champions this year respectively – play an undetermined Section IX representative Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Milton.
“We’ve always thought that if you can get out of the section, you have a pretty good chance to do something at states,” said Greene head coach Sue Carlin, who guided the Trojans to a Class B state title in ’02.
The Trojans kept the pressure on from the start getting golden scoring opportunities from the first minute. Alesha Widdall, Whitney Point’s standout goalie with out-of-season experience on the upper levels of competition, dove, sprawled, kicked, and smothered a dominant Greene offense that needed to be nearly perfect to find the back of the cage.
Utilizing an effective penalty corner, Megan Boeltz and Holly Davis executed a perfect give-and-go for the first tally nearly 10 minutes into play. Christine Conroe made the initial pass to Boeltz, who touched it to Davis, and then got the ball back immediately. Boeltz blasted a hard shot that found its mark. “We know Widdall is a great goalie, and the ball wasn’t into the cage until we finished the play,” Davis said, who finished with two assists on the day.
It was only moments later that Whitney Point (10-8), who advanced to the finals with a win over Afton, netted the equalizer. Danielle Hand, a re-entry into the game after taking a break due to a mild injury, grabbed a pass on the left wing and drove down uncontested where she lifted a shot past Trojans keeper Jess Smith.
Despite the Trojans’ hefty advantage in shots on goal, penalty corners, and time of possession in Whitney Point’s defensive end, the count was knotted at 1-1 entering the second half.
Greene, who registered 23 shots in the contest – 11 in the first half, 12 in the second half – kept the offensive pressure on, and it led to Anna Crumb’s tally 9:52 into the second half. The Trojans congested the defensive end and peppered Widdall with pressure until Crumb found the cage at the end of the scramble.
Sara Ostrander tacked on valuable insurance with bing-bing-bing precision on a play that started with an Andrea Myers pass to Davis, who was near the endline. Davis quickly crossed the ball in front where Ostrander deflected the pass by Widdall. “This is a great feeling for us,” Carlin said. “We had beaten (Whitney Point, 10-8) twice this year, and we were confident, but we weren’t overconfident. Whitney Point got better every time we played them.”
Score by half
WPt. 1 0–1
