Leading off today: Four St. Joseph by-the-Sea girls soccer players were injured in a car accident Wednesday night following a 4-0 victory over Maria Regina in a CHSAA semifinal at Woodlands High School.

   Seniors Tori Flynn, Alyssa Viani, Marisa Monte and Julieann D'Amato were taken to Staten Island University Hospital following the accident in Charleston, The Advance reported.

   D'Amato, the car's driver, was released from the hospital Wednesday night. Coach Arturo Radano said Flynn sustained a broken nose, facial lacerations and a possible broken orbital bone; Viani suffered broken ribs and may have internal bleeding and liver damage, and Monte suffered a concussion.

   A witness said the car may have hit a patch of wet road, triggering the accident about 30 minutes after the team arrived back at the Huguenot school.

   Wednesday's win moved Sea into the CHSAA Archdiocesan championship on Sunday against Notre Dame Academy. "At this point, it's going to be very, very tough. But we'll just play and do our best," Radano told the paper.

   "It's not fair for their team or for us," added Notre Dame Academy senior Alyssa Grecco. "Sea shouldn't have to be worrying about a championship game; they should be worrying about their teammates."

   Hornell gridder dies: Hornell will play Geneva as scheduled Sunday afternoon in the Section 5 Class B football semifinals following the death of backup tight end and linebacker Dillen McCormick, 17.

   The 5-foot-10 senior, who had played sparingly this year because of a knee injury, died Tuesday. Details of the cause were not available, but a death notice in The Evening Tribune said McCormick died at his home.

   A funeral Mass will be held tomorrow afternoon in Hornell.

   TheBatavian.com reported that Hornell coach Gene Mastin asked his team if they wanted to forfeit this weekend's game and all of his players decided to keep going to honor McCormick's memory.

   Milestones: Christie Morano scored all the Highland goals, including her 51st of the season and 135th of her career, in defeating Marlboro, 4-3, in double overtime on Wednesday in the Section 9 girls Class B soccer semifinals. Morano's third goal tied Imma Mazzella's 1994 record for goals in a career at Highland. Her last two goals

of the game were in the first overtime.

   Henrick Hudson girls volleyball coach Diane Swertfager won her 400th match Tuesday in the Section 1 quarterfinals vs. Our Lady of Lourdes. Swertfager is in her 22nd season and envisions herself still coaching a decade from now. "I like to think I am a young 400 wins," she said.

   Loughlin appoints interim coach: JV coach Rudy King, 44, will take over as the Bishop Loughlin varsity boys basketball coach on an interim basis when practice opens Monday, though it sounds strongly as though he'll be named permanent coach down the road.

   He succeeds Khalid Green, who begins his new job as a collegiate scout for the New Jersey Nets this weekend. Loughlin is coming off a worst-to-nearly-first turnaround, having reached the 2008 CHSAA semifinals a season ago after placing last in the highly-competitive league.

   Doherty goes for No. 30: ArmoryTrack.com did a lengthy profile recently of Pearl River girls cross country coach Dan Doherty, who will be going for his 30th consecutive sectional championship (the first five were in Section 9, the rest in Section 1) tomorrow.

   Doherty, who is the longtime poll editor in the sport for the New York State Sportswriters Association, has also accumulated eight New York State Public High School Athletic Association titles and two Federation championships.

   The article is full of small stories that help capture Doherty's passion for the sport and his intensity.

   "He adheres to the number one rule that most (girls) coaches don’t do," said Tom Doherty, his brother and a former AD at Pearl River. "He treats them all like boys."

   And the following snippet rings true to all of us who know Doherty casually:

   "The girls gathered in a picnic area just beyond the starting line. It is freshman Maria Kohlbrenner’s first varsity race after spending the season with the JV. Doherty ran with her father at Pearl River in the '70s. He didn’t need to coddle her before the race. He calmed her nerves this way:

   "'I’ll tell you exactly what’s gonna happen,' he said. 'You’re going to walk to the starting line. A guy is gonna shoot a gun. You’re gonna put your left leg in front of your right leg. Then you’re right leg in front of your left leg. Sound familiar? It’s the same thing you’ve been doing all year long. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.'"

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