NEW BERLIN - Southern Cayuga didn't have many opportunities Tuesday against top-seeded Unadilla Valley.
However, the ones the Chiefs did have, they capitalized on.
Jonathan Hughes had a goal and an assist to lead fifth-seeded Southern Cayuga to a 3-1 upset of No. 1 Unadilla Valley in a Section IV Class C boys soccer semifinal. The Chiefs led, 3-0, going into halftime.
“I didn't know what to expect,” said Southern Cayuga coach Terry Underwood, whose team advanced to the section final for the second time in three seasons. “Obviously being on the other end of the section, we don't see too many people. One of the things we thought is probably they weren't used to playing from behind. It was a key to the game and we were able to do some things in the second half defensively to make it difficult for them to score.”
Southern Cayuga (12-3-3) will play IAC-rival Marathon for the title at a time to be announced on Saturday at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta.
“They were very opportunistic,” said Unadilla Valley coach Matt Osborne, whose team finished 15-2-2. “I knew that coming in and I knew they were quick in transition. We just didn't mark up guys a couple of times and it hurt us.”
Unadilla Valley had more chances and continually put pressure in the Southern Cayuga end of the field. The Storm held a 15-7 advantage in shots, but the Chiefs stacked the penalty area and wouldn't give the Storm direct looks at the goal.
“They had a good defense,” Unadilla Valley's Zack Thomsen said. “Everyone got back real well. It seemed like there was always two guys on you no matter where you were.”
Southern Cayuga opened the scoring 8:13 into the first half. Hughes lofted a corner kick into the penalty area and Casey Denman jumped and delivered a header into the middle, just over the hands of UV goalie Ryan Johnson.
“I just went up for it and tried to put it on goal and luckily it went in,” Denman said. “It gave us all the confidence and got us ready for the rest of the game and we were pumped up after that.”
The goal came about one minute after Unadilla Valley almost scored the first goal.
Peter Burchill sent a through ball to Peter Brooks inside the penalty box. Brooks got past a couple of defenders on the left side and shot, but the ball went off the inside of the left post and the Chiefs cleared.
“That's one of those variables you can't control,” Underwood said. “That ball could have gone in and changed the whole outcome of the game.”
Instead, the Chiefs continued to pressure and exactly three minutes after scoring their first goal, they struck again.
Hughes pushed a cornerkick on the ground into the penalty box and the ball got tangled up in a crowd. A shot came out and went off Johnson as he went to his knees for the save. Caleb Schonfeld was there to pick up the loose back and shot it to the right for a 2-0 lead.
“We didn't mark up well in the first half and let them get a couple easy goals,” Thomsen said. “After they scored, it's tough because they got a little defensive and we couldn't get anything going until the second half.”
Southern Cayuga made it 3-0 when Hughes scored off a loose ball in the box, shooting to the right side, just out of the reach of Johnson.
From there, Southern Cayuga went into a defensive mode and anytime anyone had possession of the ball inside 25 yards, at least two Chiefs would converge.
“That was our gameplan coming in,” Underwood said. “We respect this team, especially the Thomson boy. He's a magnificent player. There's a number of very good players. We assigned kids man to man. We tried to dictate the matchups and tried to double team Thomson any chance we could.”
Said Osborne: “I knew they were going to do that. I had heard from some other coaches they were going to pack the box and we did the best we could. We had the ball outside a lot and crossed it a lot, we just couldn't get any in the net.”
The Storm scored 2:54 into the second half when Burchill took a cornerkick and Thomson jumped through the defense in the middle and headed the ball into the left side of the goal for a 3-1 score.
“A good cross by Burchill and I guess I was in the right place,” Thomsen said. “I think we all thought after we scored that goal we could get back into the game but we couldn't get another one.”
The Storm had a 6-2 advantage in shots in the second half, but any major scoring chances came from 15 yards or out.
“I knew once we could break the ice I thought we could get a couple more,” Osborne said. “But they really packed the box with 10 guys and there's not any room to maneuver or even get a shot off.”
And now the Chiefs are on the verge of their second Section IV title in the last three years.
“This is a team on the rise,” Underwood said. “It's a very young team. We didn't expect to do this much this year.”
Harmer is a sports writer for
The Daily Star of Oneonta
Jonathan Hughes had a goal and an assist to lead fifth-seeded Southern Cayuga to a 3-1 upset of No. 1 Unadilla Valley in a Section IV Class C boys soccer semifinal. The Chiefs led, 3-0, going into halftime.
“I didn't know what to expect,” said Southern Cayuga coach Terry Underwood, whose team advanced to the section final for the second time in three seasons. “Obviously being on the other end of the section, we don't see too many people. One of the things we thought is probably they weren't used to playing from behind. It was a key to the game and we were able to do some things in the second half defensively to make it difficult for them to score.”
Southern Cayuga (12-3-3) will play IAC-rival Marathon for the title at a time to be announced on Saturday at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta.
“They were very opportunistic,” said Unadilla Valley coach Matt Osborne, whose team finished 15-2-2. “I knew that coming in and I knew they were quick in transition. We just didn't mark up guys a couple of times and it hurt us.”
Unadilla Valley had more chances and continually put pressure in the Southern Cayuga end of the field. The Storm held a 15-7 advantage in shots, but the Chiefs stacked the penalty area and wouldn't give the Storm direct looks at the goal.
“They had a good defense,” Unadilla Valley's Zack Thomsen said. “Everyone got back real well. It seemed like there was always two guys on you no matter where you were.”
Southern Cayuga opened the scoring 8:13 into the first half. Hughes lofted a corner kick into the penalty area and Casey Denman jumped and delivered a header into the middle, just over the hands of UV goalie Ryan Johnson.
“I just went up for it and tried to put it on goal and luckily it went in,” Denman said. “It gave us all the confidence and got us ready for the rest of the game and we were pumped up after that.”
The goal came about one minute after Unadilla Valley almost scored the first goal.
Peter Burchill sent a through ball to Peter Brooks inside the penalty box. Brooks got past a couple of defenders on the left side and shot, but the ball went off the inside of the left post and the Chiefs cleared.
“That's one of those variables you can't control,” Underwood said. “That ball could have gone in and changed the whole outcome of the game.”
Instead, the Chiefs continued to pressure and exactly three minutes after scoring their first goal, they struck again.
Hughes pushed a cornerkick on the ground into the penalty box and the ball got tangled up in a crowd. A shot came out and went off Johnson as he went to his knees for the save. Caleb Schonfeld was there to pick up the loose back and shot it to the right for a 2-0 lead.
“We didn't mark up well in the first half and let them get a couple easy goals,” Thomsen said. “After they scored, it's tough because they got a little defensive and we couldn't get anything going until the second half.”
Southern Cayuga made it 3-0 when Hughes scored off a loose ball in the box, shooting to the right side, just out of the reach of Johnson.
From there, Southern Cayuga went into a defensive mode and anytime anyone had possession of the ball inside 25 yards, at least two Chiefs would converge.
“That was our gameplan coming in,” Underwood said. “We respect this team, especially the Thomson boy. He's a magnificent player. There's a number of very good players. We assigned kids man to man. We tried to dictate the matchups and tried to double team Thomson any chance we could.”
Said Osborne: “I knew they were going to do that. I had heard from some other coaches they were going to pack the box and we did the best we could. We had the ball outside a lot and crossed it a lot, we just couldn't get any in the net.”
The Storm scored 2:54 into the second half when Burchill took a cornerkick and Thomson jumped through the defense in the middle and headed the ball into the left side of the goal for a 3-1 score.
“A good cross by Burchill and I guess I was in the right place,” Thomsen said. “I think we all thought after we scored that goal we could get back into the game but we couldn't get another one.”
The Storm had a 6-2 advantage in shots in the second half, but any major scoring chances came from 15 yards or out.
“I knew once we could break the ice I thought we could get a couple more,” Osborne said. “But they really packed the box with 10 guys and there's not any room to maneuver or even get a shot off.”
And now the Chiefs are on the verge of their second Section IV title in the last three years.
“This is a team on the rise,” Underwood said. “It's a very young team. We didn't expect to do this much this year.”
Harmer is a sports writer for
The Daily Star of Oneonta
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