Leading off today: West Islip and Garden City played a great girls soccer game on Tuesday, then Newsday's Owen O'Brien offered superb details about the unlikely conclusion.
West Islip defeated Garden City in penalty kicks, 6-5, after 110 minutes of scoreless play in the Long Island Championship game, which also served as a first-round game in the NYSPHSAA Class AA tournament.
Naturally, the shootout was the story of the game, and O'Brien delivered the 4-1-1 on how Samantha McCormack had the starring role despite not stepping on the field in 110 minutes of regulation and overtime.
McCormack was the seventh player to take a penalty kick for West Islip, but that wasn't coach Nick Grieco's intention even thou he'd been impressed with her technique on PKs during recent practices. He wanted her to go eighth, but Grieco reversed her uniform number with that of its intended seventh shooter. So, the referee ruled McCormack would have to take the No. 7 slot.
Naturally, the sophomore buried the shot to win the shootout and advance West Islip (18-1-1) to Saturday's state quarterfinal against Albertus Magnus.
"I was a little bit confused over the number stuff, but I told myself I have to make sure I score and I don't miss," McCormack said. "I feel like that actually helped me to not worry so much about the game on the line. I was more worried about what was going on."
Another premature ending to a football season
Section 3 ended the most successful football season in Institute of Technology history with a determination on Tuesday that the Eagles used an ineligible player in last weekend's 22-14 victory over Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in the Class B quarterfinals,
Syracuse.com reported.
However, Syracuse City School District officials are maintaining that the section's decision to award a forfeit was incorrect. At issue is the sequence of events after the player in question was ejected in the third quarter of the regular-season finale against Indian River.
Coach Raquan Pride-Green said his coaching staff reviewed the video and did not see anything that should have led to an ejection. "I don't want to even say (the call) was a mistake," Pride-Green told Syracuse.com. "I feel like that was a blatant lie."
Ordinarily, an ejection requires the player to sit out the next two halves of competition. But district AD Jesse Long told the website that Section 3 Executive Director Jason Czarny suggested that no ejection report existed, so Long should not submit the paperwork to begin an appeal.
On Monday, Section 3 summoned school district officials to a hearing with V-V-S and section officials, where it was determined ITC "did not follow the proper procedures for an ejected player," according to Long.
On Wednesday, the school district's board of education authorized a local law firm to challenge Section 3 decision.
Barring a quick reversal, V-V-S advances to the Class B semifinals on Friday vs. New Hartford and ITC, ranked 24th by the New York State Sportswriters Association, finishes with a 6-3 record..
Rankings progress
In the last week, Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton and Newburgh Free Academy have seen their football seasons by their respective school districts end prematurely due to allegations of player misconduct. Now Syracuse ITC is the third school to be ousted in the midst of sectionals.
The Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton situation has an added layer of complexity because the team was ranked No. 1 in Class D by the New York State Sportswriters Association.
After discussion amongst NYSSWA correspondents, we have dropped Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton (8-0) into honorable mention rather than removing the entirely.
The new top-ranked Class D team is Clymer/Sherman/Panama.
NYSSWA rankings page
Milestones
East Aurora coach Kevin Beale tied the Section 6 boys soccer record for coaching victories with a 4-0 victory against Southwestern to advance the team to the NYSPHSAA Class B quarterfinals.
Beale's 436th win, sparked by two goals from sophomore captain Lucas Jamesson in the game's first six minutes, pulled him even with former Lancaster coach Joe Adamec.
Beale's teams have won 15 sectional championships and a state title in his 28 seasons.
