Greene has that championship feeling
VESTAL – Greene’s field hockey team went 1 and 0 for the 20th time this season. The last of those victories brought home the school’s sixth New York State championship.
Greene maintained a stingy brand of defense that did not allow a single goal against the best teams in the state, and blanked Mamoraneck of Section I, 1-0, Saturday afternoon at Dick Hoover Field in the Class A title game.
It was the first state title for Greene since 2002 when the Trojans captured the Class B championship under head coach Sue Carlin. The victory also makes up for a state semifinals disappointment a year ago that has served as motivation for this year’s perfect 20-0 season.
“When we walked off the field last year, the first thing out of our mouths was, ‘we’ll get it next year,’” said Greene senior tri-captain, Erin Smith.
Carlin, who now has four coaching state titles – two at Maine-Endwell to go with her two at Greene – made it her job to keep her veteran team focused on the next game, a tough chore for a club that breezed through an unbeaten regular season with its closest game a 1-0 win early on against Maine-Endwell.
“After that loss (last year), we could not wait to get back here,” Smith said. “Every day, starting with first day of preseason, (our thought was) ‘we’re getting there and we’re winning it.’ We took it one day at a time and were really patient. It was very hard to do that, and we’ve been just dying to do that. We didn’t want to lose focus.
“Our coach was on us about it. Every day, every game, it was one day and one game...1 and 0, 1 and 0. We don’t keep track of wins, and we see every game as potentially our last game.”
Regardless of the outcome, Saturday would be the last hurdle to clear for Greene, and the Trojans dominated play at the outset generating four penalty corners in succession in the game’s opening six minutes.
The unrelenting pressure yielded the game’s only goal 7:59 into the contest. Christine Conroe pushed the ball up the field and into the penalty circle. The ball made its way to Andrea Day, who swept a pass to Smith in front of the goal. Smith, who led Greene with 17 tallies this season, slid the ball between the legs of Mamaroneck keeper Katie Stuntz.
“They were really packing in their defense,” Carlin said. “We were able to squirt it through. Some times you have to have a little luck with this game.”
It wasn’t luck, though, that allowed Greene to consistently maintain possession of the ball. The Tigers (19-2-1) made just one foray into the Greene penalty circle the entire first half, and that was just for a mere second before the ball was cleared out.
In spite of an anemic offensive performance in the first half, Mamaroneck – much like Williamsville North, Greene’s semifinals opponent – turned the momentum of the game 180 degrees in the second half.
Mamaroneck had three penalty corners in the first five minutes of the second half as the Trojans rarely had the ball out of their own circle. On the first corner, Greene goalie Devyn Staley – she of 17 shutout wins this year – cleared the ball herself. On the second, a shot and attempted tip-in went wide, and the third corner, Conroe flew to the ball and disrupted the play before any shot occurred.
After the Tigers’ early second-half surge, Greene regained control of the game, and as was typical of the majority of the contest, was attacking in Mamaroneck’s defensive zone when time finally expired.
“Both days (this weekend), we played really composed,” Carlin said, who was never worried, although she admitted to not getting much sleep on the eve of Saturday’s championship game. “I didn’t sleep at all Friday night, and I don’t know why. I had this song in my head ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ by the Black-Eyed Peas. It was our girls’ workout song in the preseason.”
Perhaps that “feeling” was prophetic as the Trojans are once again experiencing the feeling of a state champion.
Class A Championship finals
Score by half
Mam. 0 0–0
Gre. 1 0–1
Goals-assists: (G) Erin Smith (17), 1-0; Andrea Day, 0-1.
Shots-penalty corners: (G) 9-11, (M) 2-3.
Saves: (G) Devyn Staley, 2, (M) Katie Kuntz, 7.
Greene all-tournament team members: Erin Smith, Anna Crumb, Christine Conroe.
Editor’s note: The game story from Friday, Nov. 20 in which Greene defeated Williamsville North is available on the Internet at www.evesun.com/news/stories/2009-11-20/8402/Greene-reaches-state-finals/
Greene maintained a stingy brand of defense that did not allow a single goal against the best teams in the state, and blanked Mamoraneck of Section I, 1-0, Saturday afternoon at Dick Hoover Field in the Class A title game.
It was the first state title for Greene since 2002 when the Trojans captured the Class B championship under head coach Sue Carlin. The victory also makes up for a state semifinals disappointment a year ago that has served as motivation for this year’s perfect 20-0 season.
“When we walked off the field last year, the first thing out of our mouths was, ‘we’ll get it next year,’” said Greene senior tri-captain, Erin Smith.
Carlin, who now has four coaching state titles – two at Maine-Endwell to go with her two at Greene – made it her job to keep her veteran team focused on the next game, a tough chore for a club that breezed through an unbeaten regular season with its closest game a 1-0 win early on against Maine-Endwell.
“After that loss (last year), we could not wait to get back here,” Smith said. “Every day, starting with first day of preseason, (our thought was) ‘we’re getting there and we’re winning it.’ We took it one day at a time and were really patient. It was very hard to do that, and we’ve been just dying to do that. We didn’t want to lose focus.
“Our coach was on us about it. Every day, every game, it was one day and one game...1 and 0, 1 and 0. We don’t keep track of wins, and we see every game as potentially our last game.”
Regardless of the outcome, Saturday would be the last hurdle to clear for Greene, and the Trojans dominated play at the outset generating four penalty corners in succession in the game’s opening six minutes.
The unrelenting pressure yielded the game’s only goal 7:59 into the contest. Christine Conroe pushed the ball up the field and into the penalty circle. The ball made its way to Andrea Day, who swept a pass to Smith in front of the goal. Smith, who led Greene with 17 tallies this season, slid the ball between the legs of Mamaroneck keeper Katie Stuntz.
“They were really packing in their defense,” Carlin said. “We were able to squirt it through. Some times you have to have a little luck with this game.”
It wasn’t luck, though, that allowed Greene to consistently maintain possession of the ball. The Tigers (19-2-1) made just one foray into the Greene penalty circle the entire first half, and that was just for a mere second before the ball was cleared out.
In spite of an anemic offensive performance in the first half, Mamaroneck – much like Williamsville North, Greene’s semifinals opponent – turned the momentum of the game 180 degrees in the second half.
Mamaroneck had three penalty corners in the first five minutes of the second half as the Trojans rarely had the ball out of their own circle. On the first corner, Greene goalie Devyn Staley – she of 17 shutout wins this year – cleared the ball herself. On the second, a shot and attempted tip-in went wide, and the third corner, Conroe flew to the ball and disrupted the play before any shot occurred.
After the Tigers’ early second-half surge, Greene regained control of the game, and as was typical of the majority of the contest, was attacking in Mamaroneck’s defensive zone when time finally expired.
“Both days (this weekend), we played really composed,” Carlin said, who was never worried, although she admitted to not getting much sleep on the eve of Saturday’s championship game. “I didn’t sleep at all Friday night, and I don’t know why. I had this song in my head ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ by the Black-Eyed Peas. It was our girls’ workout song in the preseason.”
Perhaps that “feeling” was prophetic as the Trojans are once again experiencing the feeling of a state champion.
Class A Championship finals
Score by half
Mam. 0 0–0
Gre. 1 0–1
Goals-assists: (G) Erin Smith (17), 1-0; Andrea Day, 0-1.
Shots-penalty corners: (G) 9-11, (M) 2-3.
Saves: (G) Devyn Staley, 2, (M) Katie Kuntz, 7.
Greene all-tournament team members: Erin Smith, Anna Crumb, Christine Conroe.
Editor’s note: The game story from Friday, Nov. 20 in which Greene defeated Williamsville North is available on the Internet at www.evesun.com/news/stories/2009-11-20/8402/Greene-reaches-state-finals/
dived wound factual legitimately delightful goodness fit rat some lopsidedly far when.
Slung alongside jeepers hypnotic legitimately some iguana this agreeably triumphant pointedly far
jeepers unscrupulous anteater attentive noiseless put less greyhound prior stiff ferret unbearably cracked oh.
So sparing more goose caribou wailed went conveniently burned the the the and that save that adroit gosh and sparing armadillo grew some overtook that magnificently that
Circuitous gull and messily squirrel on that banally assenting nobly some much rakishly goodness that the darn abject hello left because unaccountably spluttered unlike a aurally since contritely thanks