Evening Sun Report
Girls’ Soccer
ONEONTA – Two weeks ago, Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton’s girls were one loss away from not going to the sectional playoffs. After Wednesday afternoon’s game against Cherry Valley-Springfield, the Raiders are now one win away from winning the school’s second-ever Section IV title after beating the Patriots, 1-0.
G-MU, the 10th seed in the Class D playoffs, will meet Milford in the sectional finals this weekend in Oneonta at a time to be determined. The Raiders (10-6-3) controlled much of the first half, and a goal by Kali Murphy late in the first half stood up, that despite CV-S’s relentless offensive pressure the final 10 minutes.
“I told them we didn’t have to score, we just wanted to play defense,” said G-MU coach Kristen Bradbury, who took over the program three years ago inheriting a winless team.
Logan Eltz made eight saves for the Raiders, and was especially aggressive patrolling the 18-yard box. “She has just stepped up big time this year and done a good job,” Bradbury said of Eltz. “I could have cried just thinking about it. She made a lot of good stops.”
The Raiders had all of the good scoring opportunities in the first half, three of which were from point-blank range. The first one, the shot sailed just over the top of the crossbar, the second was a breakaway in which CV-S goalie Kylie Graham made the stop. On the third, Murphy was in front of the goal during a loose-ball scramble, and she pounded it in at the 32:31 mark.
“The last time we played (CV-S), it was probably one of our worst games of the season,” Bradbury said. “We definitely had a lot more chances in this game than the last time.”
Until the final minutes of the game, G-MU had a decided edge in shots on goal, although the majority of the Raiders’ shots came in the opening 40 minutes. The change of direction – and the prevailing wind – had the Patriots in attack mode. G-MU defenders Alicia Sebeck, Whitney Gilbert, Tanya Barnes, and Brianne Lambert spearheaded a cohesive defense that has played extra stingy in the second half of three straight playoff wins.
“Everything started with us playing like a team,” Bradbury said. “We’ve played well late in the season and did a lot of good passing. It kind of fell apart in the middle of the season, but we’ve been able to pick it up again.”
G-MU’s last Section IV title came in 2001 under former head coach, Todd Talbot.
Summary
Score by half
G-MU 1 0–1
CV-S 0 0–0
Goals-assists: (G) Kali Murphy, 1-0 (1, 32:31).
Shots-corners: (G) 6-0, (C) 8-8.
Saves: (G) Logan Eltz, 8, (C) Kylie Graham, 3.
