Monday, Nov. 18, 2019: Pleasantville girls stage furious late rally

   Down two goals with under 17 minutes to play in the NYSPHSAA girls Class B final, Pleasantville tied the match and finally beat Central Valley Academy 3-2 on a goal with four seconds remaining in regulation on Sunday.

   Junior Katie Moses delivered the tying and winning goals.

   "I've watched a lot of soccer and coached a lot of soccer, and I've never seen a finish like that," Panthers coach Chris Osterhoudt said. "To be down with like 20 minutes left, just be relentless at the end, and fight to the very bitter end was just absolutely amazing. Credit to every single girl on this team for the hard work they put in all year, and the hard work just paid off."

   The championship was the program's first in girls soccer.

   "It's the best accomplishment that any of us have been a part of," Moses said. "We worked so hard for it. We deserved it so much, We put in so many hours, it's just the best feeling in the world."

   M-W, Stillwater girls repeat: Monroe-Woodbury retained the Class AA title with a 1-0 win over Fayetteville-Manlius on a Josephine Sorce goal from 10 yards out in the 55th minute.

   "It was my first game-winning goal," the senior said. "I was going to one-time it, but I had so much time to settle it."

   Senior goalie Angela Fini posted the shutout.

   "We played our hearts out," Fayetteville-Manlius coach Brent Ostrander said. "We played all right, but that's a heck of a team."

   Meanwhile, Stillwater wan its two-season record to 43-0-3 by defeating Unatego 1-0 to repeat as the Class C champion.

   Paige Brinsko scored the goal off a free kick late in the first half.

   "I couldn't ask for any other way to leave this program than as a state champion," senior Brooke Pickett said. "To win it last year was amazing. We wanted to come back this year and prove we were the real deal."

   Said senior Keelyn Peacock: "After last year, the goal was to keep winning until we can't win anymore."

   Pickett finished her career with 208 goals, three short of the Section 2 record held by Queensbury graduate Brittany LaPlant.

   "I don't even care," Pickett said of coming up shy of the record. "I am so happy right now. We won. We won."

   A first for S-WR: No Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer team had ever won a state title until Sunday's 2-0 win over Spencerport in Class A.

   Senior midfielder Elizabeth Shields went on a run to the net and finished a cross from Gianna Cacciola to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead with 15:29 remaining in regulation, and Ashley Borriello tacked on an empty-netter with :23.9 to go.

   "There wasn't much time left in the game, it was still 0-0 and I was making that hard run in and I said, 'Something has to come out of this,'" Shields said. "It was just all or nothing in that moment."

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   Poland coasts: Sophomore Lexi Bates finished with three goals and an assist in Poland's 6-1 rout of Avoca in the Class D final.

   The four-time defending Section 3 champs are 41-0-1 since falling to Wheatland-Chili in the 2017 state final. The Tornadoes' first state title came in 2012 before losses in the 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 title games.

   “It's very satisfying," said senior Leah Basel. "This is my third time here, so this is like a third time's a charm. So I'm very pleased."

   Island dynamos: A pair of Long Island squads with rich boys soccer histories added to their trophy cases with championships against Section 5 opponents in the two large-school classes.

   Jericho bagged its fifth NYSPHSAA champion- ship with a 3-1 win over Greece Athena in Class A and Brentwood earned its fourth title by blanking Fairport 4-0 in the 'AA' contest.

   Jordan Miller scored three goals to lead the way for Jericho. "I just found pockets. Ari Kantorowitz found me a bunch of times," Miller said. "It's a team game and I just happened to score today."

   Miller began the scoring by knocking home a rebound of a Kantorowitz shot in the final minutes of the first half. He connected again in the 45th and 61st minutes.

   "Jordan's always wanted this more than anyone and to be able to help him is unbelievable," said goal- keeper Jake Levy. "There are a lot of alumni here and people that have won the state championship before. To see them here and watch us do it ourselves feels great."

   Alex Garcia, Juan Gomez, Sergio Ventura and Brandon Yanez scored to lead Brentwood to its first crown since 2010.

   The winners utilized every player on their roster.

   "This is my 40th year and I always dreamed that I could get every single kid on the roster into a state final and we got it done," coach Ron Eden said. "It's a tribute to the guys. At halftime, I said I want everybody in this room to play today and it's up to the starters to make it happen. They did."

   Said Garcia: "We just played beautiful soccer."

   Skaneateles wins in OT: Sophomore midfielder Owen Cheney scored with 8:39 left in sudden death as Skaneateles edged Center Moriches 1-0 in Class B.

   Cheney swooped in behind a defender to steal the ball for a breakaway down the field.

   "I just knew that was my time, so I took it all the way down and placed it into back left," Cheney said. "I haven't really experienced anything like this. I've had some tournaments that I've gone to and won, but nothing compares to this."

   Junior goalkeeper Andrew Neumann posted the shutout, making seven saves for a team that began the postseason seeded sixth in the Section 3 tourney.

   The Lakers' only other title came in 2010.

   Rhinebeck blanks champs: Nakoa Zuger scored the goal and Rhinebeck's defense was again impenetrable as the Hawks completed an undefeated season by beating two-time defending champion Lansing in Class C.

   Zuger scored on a put-back following a corner kick midway through the first half.

   The rest was up to a defense that posted its 15th shutout of the season, including three straight 1-0 triumphs to complete the year with a 21-0-1 mark.

   "You don't need a ton of goals to win every game; just more than the opposition," said Noah Lortie. "When the opposition can't get anything, it means all you need is one. This defense did that for us."

   Marathon wins in 'D': Ian Gacek's first-half goal on a cross from Cameron Neilson stood as the difference in a 1-0 win for Marathon against Mount Academy.    Mount Academy's previous two losses this season had come at the hands of Class C champ Rhinebeck.