GREENE – Greene lost its leading scorer to injury less than 13 minutes into the game, and as a response, did not allow a shot or a penalty corner to Vestal over the last 40 minutes of the game.
The Trojans (16-0) ran their unbeaten streak to 36 games, and won their fifth straight Section IV title claiming the Class A crown here Saturday night, 2-0 over the Golden Bears.
Greene meets Section III champion Baldwinsville back on its home turf on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the state playoffs. “After last year, people knew we were losing a lot of people (to graduation), said Wentlent, a senior. “We were going to try our best, and I think people were looking for us to fail. That was definitely motivation.”
Wentlent came up from her position on defense to blast in the opening goal just 6 1/2 minutes into the game. The Trojans drew a penalty corner, and sophomore Emily Conroe inserted the pass to Driscoll at the top of the penalty circle. Driscoll fired a hard shot that was saved by Vestal goalie Anna Hancock. Wentlent followed up the rebound pounding the ball in – the only tally Greene would ultimately need.
“That was a tremendous goal, and it was well executed,” said Greene head coach Sue Carlin. “Jahna got a really good shot off, and Abbey was right there. (Abbey’s) a veteran, she’s very composed, and she finished.”
Just over 10 minutes after Greene scored, Vestal drew a free hit from just inside midfield – and almost in front of the Trojans’ bench. The pass elevated quickly and hit Driscoll in the mouth. She was down for several minutes, and was attended by medics before she left the field for good. Carlin was not sure of the extent of the injuries, although she remarked that Driscoll is “tough,” and she wouldn’t be surprised if (Driscoll) is available for Tuesday’s playoff game.
In Driscoll’s absence, Carlin needed to quickly reshuffle her lineup. “We had to change everything,” Carlin said. “We had to change our corner offense...but look at what we did after that.”
Vestal rarely ventured into Greene’s territory throughout the second half, and the Trojans gained much-needed breathing room from sophomore reserve Emily Gascon.
Gascon carried the ball into the penalty circle on the right side, and fired a bullet of a shot into the far left corner of the cage with 14:39 left in the game. “Emily has such great speed, and she’s worked hard to get her stickwork up to her speed,” Carlin said. “I thought she was going to pass, all of the sudden, holy crud. With that angle, it was a perfect shot, and it had to be.”
Greene finished the game on the offensive finishing with 10 shots and 13 penalty corners. Vestal had two shots and two corners, all of that offense coming in the first 20 minutes of the game.
“Our defense just played tremendous tonight,” Carlin said of her team’s third win over Vestal this season. “Someone stepped up at every point. We worked the ball out and had great passing.”
Greene keeper Devyn Staley made two saves for the shutout.
Score by half
Vest. 0 0–0
Gre. 1 1–2
Goals-assists: (G) Abbey Wentlent, 1-0, Emily Gascon, 1-0; Jahna Driscoll, 0-1.
Shots-penalty corners: (G) 10-13, (V) 2-2.
Saves: (G) Devyn Staley, 2, (V) Anna Hancock 6.