VESTAL – Greene head coach Sue Carlin talked to her team all week about finding that defining moment.
The longtime field hockey mentor watched that defining moment transpire at Dick Hoover Field in Vestal as the Trojans advanced to the state semifinals with a 2-1 win over Section III’s Liverpool Saturday afternoon.
Greene (16-2) meets Section XI’s Ward Melville Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Chittenango High School.
“Every time we tried, we could never finish,” said third-year Greene player Christine Conroe. “We’re finally in the final four.”
Conroe had her own defining moment – the game-winning goal with 2:01 to play. The Trojans drew one of their 11 penalty corners, but the first in over 17 minutes after continuing to pressure the Liverpool defense for over a 10-minute period. Andrea Day made the initial pass from the right of Warriors keeper Micky Meaghar. Conroe took the ball, juked a Liverpool defender, and fired a bullet that hit the inside of Meaghar’s boot and into the cage.
“Corners are about execution, and we talked at halftime about the girl coming out so fast at Crissy,” Carlin said, whose team had eight penalty corners in the first half. “I said to Crissy, if she comes out on top and you don’t have a shot, pull it to the left because the middle was wide open. Hats off to her. You couldn’t script the play any better, and we executed perfectly.”
Another defining moment came moments later. Liverpool called a timeout after Conroe’s goal, and immediately pressed for the tying tally. Kayla DeAngelis, who had the Warriors’ first goal, broke free on the right wing, and had a clear shot on goal from the right side. She fired a hard shot toward the inside left of the cage, but Greene goalie Devyn Staley made a sharp kick save to redirect the ball out of harm’s way. About 15 minutes earlier, DeAngelis was in point-blank range, but had back-to-back shots stuffed by Staley, who finished with five saves on the day.
“Devyn really hasn’t been tested a lot this season, but she came up huge in the first game against Marathon, so it’s there,” Carlin said. “(Devyn) made nearly the exact same save from the same spot last week against Whitney Point. She just made a phenomenal save.”
Early in the second half, Liverpool flipped the momentum nearly 180 degrees. Fighting Greene off most of the first half – the exception DeAngelis’ goal 7:55 into play – Liverpool generated four of its five penalty corners over a four-minute span early in the second half. That precipitated a Carlin timeout at 21:42.
The Trojans turned the tide slowly getting back-to-back corners two minutes later, and controlling the midfield for most of the remaining minutes. “We knew that Jennifer VanderMeulen and Beth Lamison (Liverpool midfielders) could control the game, and they did that at the start of the second half,” Carlin said. “We had to neutralize them, pressure them or do whatever we could. When we needed it, someone stepped up.”
Liverpool finished with just two shots in the first half, and made the initial one count when DeAngelis tallied unassisted 6 1/2 minutes into the game.
Greene responded when Anna Crumb took a cross from Amy David, and tallied with just over six minutes remaining in the opening period. Greene finished with a 14-6 advantage in shots on goal.
“We wanted to make this step, and the team wanted it bad – especially the kids that had lost in the playoffs the past two years,” Carlin said. “They earned it.”
Summary
Score by half
L’pool 1 0–1
Greene 1 1–2
Goals-assists: (L) Kayla DeAngelis (1st, 23:50), 1-0. (G) Anna Crumb (1st, 7:45), 1-0; Christine Conroe (2nd, 2:01), 1-0; Andrea Day, 0-1, Amy David, 0-1.
Shots-penalty corners: (L) 6-5, (G) 14-11.
Saves: (L) Mickey Meaghar, 9, (G) Devyn Staley, 5.