VERONA — There was no repeat Sunday at Chevron Stadium in Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.
Division III has crowned field hockey champions in four categories and none have returned to the winner’s circle as of 2022.
Rome Free Academy finished the day with an overtime win over Cicero-North Syracuse, reversing the result of last year’s Division I final. Camden’s win in Class B at the start of the day ended Holland Patent’s championship streak, Little Falls won a title in its return to Class D, and Class C champion Clinton had already knocked off last year’s winner in the semifinals.
Three teams will return to Verona for regional play against Division IV on November 5. Little Falls and Clinton will return on Wednesday to determine the Section III Class C entry for the three-team state tournament. The Class C/D match is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
“This is where the fun starts,” Camden coach Shannon McPheron said, reflecting on his previous tournament appearance as snow piled up around the field at Cicero-North Syracuse.
Class A Windsor, Class B Vestal and Class C Whitney Point won the Section IV finals on Sunday and represent the Section III regional opposition. Vestal and Whitney Point are the state champions. Whitney Point has won two straight, and Final Four play will take place the following weekend on Long Island.
Class D: Little Falls 5, Morrisville-Eaton 2
The Little Falls Mounties returned to Class D in the Division III Field Hockey Playoffs this fall, entering as the No. 1 seed and finishing as champion.
The Mounties (14-4-0), Class D champions in 2021 and Class C finalists last fall, scored twice in the third quarter and two more in the fourth Sunday and pulled away from a first-half tie to defeat Morrisville-Eaton (15-3). -0) 5-2.
Freshman Jayden Regan scored three goals for her second varsity hat-trick, and senior Avery McLaughlin, the team’s leading scorer, added one goal and three assists.
Regan opened the scoring with a goal 94 seconds into the game. Morrisville-Eaton tied that goal three minutes later, but an early goal boosted the No. 1 seed.
“The team’s goal was to score first,” coach Monica Tully said. “They feel like once we score a goal, we’ll be OK.”
The score remained tied at 1 through the first half and into the third quarter. Adriana Izzo, another freshman, broke the tie with her goal just over three minutes into the second half. The Mounties held an 8-1 advantage in shots to that point and had six corner kicks to the Warriors’ two despite getting one as time expired at the end of the first half and giving the No. 2 seed a chance to score without a clock. ; The Mounties broke up the play without allowing a punt.
The Mounties would score again on the next corner, taking a 3-1 lead on Regan’s second goal.
But they did not survive the end of the period as they did in the second period. Sophomore Addison Chantal scored the second shot and second goal for Morrisville-Eaton with 17 seconds on the clock.
Regan scored early in the fourth quarter, McLaughlin added her own midway through, and the Mounties missed a chance to extend the lead when August Thompson blocked a penalty kill.
Caitlin Doxater scored Morrisville-Eaton’s first goal, Molly Orth tallied an assist, and Thompson made 13 saves.
Makena Tooley had an assist for Little Falls while goalie Olivia Brand was credited with one save.
Little Falls plays Class C Clinton on Wednesday for a spot in the state tournament. The Mounties were beaten 1-0 by Canastota in a playoff game in 2021, and Canastota also beat Little Falls 2-1 in the Class C final last year.
Class C: Clinton 1, Mount Markham 0, overtime
The top-seeded Comets won Clinton 1-0 in a game that was quickly decided once it reached overtime and space opened up on the field.
The top-seeded Clinton Comets (16-1-1) were awarded a penalty kick 30 seconds into the first 10 minutes of overtime.
Junior Loren Ray took the corner kick, dribbled around a defender and fired in the winning shot one minute into the second half.
Having convinced herself that “OK, you can do it”, Rae said her main thought at the decisive corner was “We have to score here”.
Mount Markham (13-6-0) already had a chance a short time ago. The Mustangs were awarded a layup with 53 seconds remaining in regulation, 11 seconds after a timeout was called with possession in the Clinton end. They didn’t fire a shot as time expired.
The Comets will return to Chevron Stadium on Wednesday for a playoff game against Class D champion Little Falls. The two teams did not meet during the regular season, but Little Falls beat Clinton 2-1 last fall in the Division III semifinals. Clinton won 2-1 during the regular season in 2022, and the two teams split two decisions in the regular season in 2021.
Wednesday’s winner plays Division IV Whitney Point on Nov. 5 in Verona.
Class B: Camden 2, Dutch Patent 1
Holland Patent entered the sectional playoffs with five straight championships and the top seed. Camden hung up.
The teams traded goals in the first quarter and Camden broke the tie in the third quarter. Junior Cameron Schenk scored both goals for Camden (15-3-0), one assisted by Avery Prevo, and Cassidy Reeder scored for Holland Patent (12-6-0).
Alyssa Vera made two saves for Camden’s Blue Devils while Ava Larry made five saves for Holland Patent’s Golden Knights.
The teams played two one-goal games during Tri-Valley League regular season play with the visiting team winning each game.
Camden’s regional opponent will be Vestal, a 6-2 winner Sunday against Affton/Harpursville in sectional play. The Blue Devils last won a sectional title in 2019.
Class A: Rome Free Academy 1, Cicero-North Syracuse 0, overtime
Driven by revenge, the Rome Free Academy Black Knights broke a scoreless tie after two and a half minutes of overtime and beat Cicero-North Syracuse 1-0 in the Class A sectional championship.
“Way more fun,” Rome Free Academy coach Mackenzie Welter said. “We won. How can you not be in a better mood (than last year’s final)?”
Cicero-North Syracuse (14-4-0) had beaten Rome Free Academy (17-1-0) in the finals two years in a row — 2-1 in 2021 and 3-2 last fall — and gave the Black Knights their title. The only defeat during the regular season this year. The schools have now met in each of the last five seasons.
“Finally, after three years,” said Fiona McMahon, the young woman who scored the decisive goal with the help of her sister Isabelle. “This was a huge game of redemption.”
Cicero-North Syracuse scored twice in the fourth quarter to win last year’s final. The Northstars won 2-0 when the teams played in September. 22.
The top-seeded defenses shut down each other and each team recorded six shots. Roma Free Academy’s sixth shot found the back of the cage from Fiona McMahon’s stick.
Cicero-North Syracuse was awarded a penalty kick early in overtime – the Northstars had a 12-9 advantage in the game but were unable to score. Cicero-North Syracuse has scored the fourth-most goals in the division this fall.
The championship is the first for Rome Free Academy since 2009. The Black Knights play Windsor in the regional playoff next weekend. Windsor (14-3-0) beat Maine-Endwell 2-0 in the Section 4 final on Sunday.
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