Leading off today: Somers' 42-game winning streak in girls soccer came to an end Tuesday with a loss to Goshen on penalty kicks after overtime ended in a 1-1 tie.
Senior goalkeeper Peyton Atkins saved a pair of Somers attempts in the five-round shootout, and Goshen advanced by a 4-1 margin over the defending NYSPHSAA Class A champions at Tappan Zee as Catherine Hughes scored the clincher. Atkins made 14 saves in regulation and overtime.
Ciara Ostrander of Somers scored nine minutes into the game. Goshen freshman Maegan Allspach tied the game with a second-half goal that came on an assist from Samantha O'Malley.
Goshen (18-1-1) will play Section 4 champion Vestal (17-0-0) in the quarterfinals Saturday at Johnson City.
More Class A soccer: Garden City vs. Rockville Centre South Side in the Section 8 playoffs has a history of determining the state champion. Until Somers' breakthrough last fall, the two Nassau County powers had combined for five straight NYSPHSAA crowns.
Garden City remains in the hunt for its third championship since 2010. Senior Isabel Klatt headed in the game's only goal late in the first half in the Section 8 final at Cold Spring Harbor.
"I got a sweet cross from Kelly Donovan and there were like three different South Side defenders in front of me," Klatt told Newsday. "I knew I just had to get some sort of body part on it. It came over the defenders' heads and I was just like, 'I'm going to go for it!' It went in."
Garden City is riding an 11-game winning streak into the state quarterfinals Saturday.
End of the line: Two 2014 boys state soccer champs saw their seasons ended one contest short of return strips to the NYSPHSAA quarterfinals.
Bryan Wager of Honeoye Falls-Lima scored the decisive penalty kick after the Cougars and Greece Athena played to a 1-1 overtime tie in the Section 5 state qualifier in Class A.
"That's life," second-year Athena coach Mike Butler told the Democrat and Chronicle. "It's a cruel way to lose, no matter which team did. We had a great effort, nothing but good feelings about it."
Meanwhile, reigning Class D champ I-Prep lost to East Aurora 2-1 in overtime in the Section 6 state Class B qualifier. Senior Sean O'Leary scored the game-winning goal 45 seconds into the first golden-goal overtime.
East Aurora, which has bounced back in forth between Classes A and B due to enrollment numbers, earned its fifth straight trip to the state quarterfinals against Section 5.
"We had a goal: Strive for five," East Aurora coach Kevin Beale told The Buffalo News. "We've graduated so many players over the years. We have a mix of underclassmen, upperclassmen, eight new starters and today we withstood a second half against a great team. I have nothing but respect for the job that (I-Prep coach Tony) Alessi does and his kids are just unbelievable."
