CICERO – Greene returned to the site of battles lost, and vanquished the memories of those disappointments with an emphatic march through a two-time defending state champion.
The Trojans advanced to their fifth straight New York State semifinal blanking previously unbeaten Cazenovia, 4-0, Saturday in the Class C regional finals at Michael J. Bragman Complex.
In its previous two trips the the state semifinals – both played on the very same field – Greene was not beaten on the field of play, but in a penalty-stroke shootout. Greene nearly scored one minute into this game, tallied its first goal 6:58 in, and proceeded to throttle a club that had won 40 straight games and back-to-back Class C state championships. Futhermore, the Lakers (19-1) didn’t get their first shot on goal until 10 ½ minutes were left in the game – their only official shot.
“We felt coming in the pressure was more on them,” said Greene coach Sue Carlin. “They were defending state champions and had won 40 in a row. That’s why I don’t dwell on streaks. Our kids know they have to win the game.”
Greene generated its first penalty corner 45 seconds into the game, and hard shot by Jahna Driscoll was saved by Caz keeper Lauren Devine. Greene’s Emma Anderson captured the rebound, and fired another close-range shot that required another good save by Devine.
Devine’s early saves only delayed the inevitable.
The Trojans’ third penalty corner, this one at the 23:12 mark, led to the first of Driscoll’s goals. Anderson inserted the pass to Driscoll at the top of the penalty circle. Driscoll dodged one defender and rifled a hard shot into the left side of the goal cage. “I think after that first goal, it really got us going,” Driscoll said, who has a team-high 22 goals this season for the Trojans. “It was beneficial for us to score so early.”
Driscoll’s first goal was pure power, but the Trojans also made good use of finesse with precise passes on Cicero-North Syracuse’s slick artificial turf. With just over 30 seconds remaining the first half, Emily Gascon’s cross from the right side was one-timed into the cage by Driscoll.
While Driscoll’s goal was a work of art, the last two Trojans tallies were clear examples of one-upmanship.
