GREENE – Greene scored so early and with such ease, one would have thought the Trojans were well on their way to a laugher. Section II champion Shenendehowa, 2-1 losers to Greene in last year's state playoffs, had none of that notion, and tested the Trojans (17-0) as much as any opponent this season.
Emily Conroe, who had a goal and an assist in last week's Section IV title game, provided the only offense in the state regional finals Saturday afternoon at Greene, and the 1-0 shutout victory sends Greene to its fourth straight semifinals appearance. "This was great for us," said Greene head coach, Sue Carlin. "We haven't been challenged a lot this year, but I thought we stayed very composed under pressure."
Carlin said her legs felt like Jell-o in the waning moments of a tense back-and-forth battle. Shenedehowa had at least three golden opportunities to tie the game, and in one instance, defender Caitlyn Bryce made a stick save of a reverse-stick shot by Nicole DaCunha that was headed into the right corner of the goal. "I think our kids stepped up defensively, and every one of them had to make a play – especially in the second half," Carlin said.
Greene, similar to its sectional final win over Vestal, found itself in the opposition’s penalty circle in the opening minutes. Unlike that Vestal game, the Trojans were able to capitalize. On the second of 10 first-half corners, the Trojans cashed in with 3:06 of time expired. Emma Anderson inserted her corner pass to Jahna Driscoll at the top of the circle. Driscoll slid the ball left to Conroe, who drove in a couple of steps before connecting on an uncontested shot.
A series of penalty corners followed over the final 27 minutes of the half, but few Greene shots were taken, and even fewer were threatening to Shenendehowa freshman goalie, Melissa Nealon. "(Their defense) tightened up and made it a lot tougher for us," Carlin said. "I was hoping for two or three more goals, but their defense played us tough."
Carlin said her team digressed a bit from its usual mode of play, and perhaps that – along with Shenendehowa's inspired defense – contributed to the inability to finish on offense. "We talked all week about passing, and I think that we were so concerned with that, we got away from just moving the ball and using our speed," Carlin said. "I think that hurt us today."
Despite that minor flaw in Greene's performance, the Trojans are among the few field hockey teams still chasing a state title. Next up is a state semifinals clash with Sachem East of Section XI on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Just one season ago, Greene was eliminated from state title contention by Mamaroneck in a penalty stroke shootout. "I think we're ready, we just need to stay focused," Carlin said. "We need to push hard in practice and get ourselves prepped. We have some work to do, but they'll be ready."
Score by half
Shen. 0 0–0
Gre. 1 0–1
Goals-assists:  (G) Emily Conroe, 1-0, Jahna Driscoll, 0-1.
Shots-corners:  (G) 10-16, (S) 3-9
Saves:  (G) Julia Amell, 3, (S) Melissa Nealon, 9.

Cross Country

VERNON – At the New York State Cross Country Championships Saturday at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, Norwich’s four seniors finished their seasons as representatives of Section IV’s Class B team.
John Mooney led the Tornado boys with at 19:34 to finish 103rd. Next were Jamie Zieno (19:45, 107th), and Nate Ashton (19:47).
Sarah Spittler, the lone Tornado girl, timed a 24:28 (116th). “The times were slower than usual, and I’ve never seen a course as muddy as this one,” said Norwich coach Shaun Horan. “It really slowed everyone down.”