CAMILLUS - It was a mistake.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Auburn forward Nicolette Neagle and Cicero-North Syracuse midfielder Julianne Viviano fight for control of the ball during the first half Auburn's 1-0 loss in Section III Class AA semifinals at West Genesee High School in Camillus on Wednesday night.
Auburn forward Nicolette Neagle and Cicero-North Syracuse midfielder Julianne Viviano fight for control of the ball during the first half Auburn's 1-0 loss in Section III Class AA semifinals at West Genesee High School in Camillus on Wednesday night.
When Cicero-North Syracuse sophomore Taylor D'Alfonso found the net less than eight minutes into the game, it was because Auburn goalie Virginia Porten wasn't inside of it.
As D'Alfonso nudged the ball in, the Maroons junior was about 10 yards out. The entire play happened so quickly and Porten rarely gets an easy goal scored on her watch, so the explanation was plain and simple.
“It was a miscommunication,” Auburn coach George Cosentino said. “It was one mistake that they were able to get through on us. It was just one fluke goal and they were able to hold us. That was it.”
Unfortunately for third-seeded Auburn, that was it. D'Alfonso's score was the only goal of the Section III, Class AA semifinal game and for the second straight Halloween, the Maroons were sent home early after a 1-0 loss at West Genesee high school. They fell to Baldwinsville, 2-1 in overtime at Corcoran High School last year in the same postseason round.
With a handful of penalty kicks (the Northstars had none) and several corner kicks, the Maroons had opportunities to at least tie the contest. When Flannery Nangle took a header into the net in the second half, it looked like the game was headed in that direction before it ricocheted off the crossbar. Many other shots went wide or sailed over the head of Northstars' keeper Chelsea Dunay, who only had two saves in the game.
“I thought we did a great job in the second half,” Cosentino said. “The girls should be very proud of themselves for how they reacted after the goal. We could have easily gotten down on ourselves, but they stayed up and they fought throughout the whole game. I think very highly of them for that.”
Defensively, the Maroons were near perfect, starting with Porten, who recorded eight saves - each one of them more impressive than the last. The Northstars got off 15 shots, four more than the Maroons and Porten was a wall in the net. In front of her, Lauren Dunster, Abby Gamba and Shannon McCormick put together one of their best games of the season.
“Those three all did a great job in the back for us,” Cosentino said. “But they've done that all year long.”
The second-seeded Northstars was also playing with some incentive, after the Maroons handed them their only loss of the season in Auburn's last game of the year, costing state-ranked Cicero-North Syracuse the top seed in the postseason, which went to Christian Brothers Academy. The Northstars beat No. 7 Oswego in the quarterfinals, as the Maroons won a heart stopper over Fayetteville-Manlius last Thursday.
As much as two top defenses played a part in the low-scoring affair, the playing surface seemed to as well. The last two wins for Auburn (14-4) came on grass and the new field behind the West Genesee lacrosse field has turf. Players from both teams seemed to have trouble with their footing at times, and Auburn junior Marissa Slayton went down with a knee injury with 2:37 left in the game after she turned the wrong way on the carpet and had to be carried off the field.
“The turf neutralized a lot of things out there tonight,” Cosentino said. “But it was an awesome game - this team played incredible.”
The Northstars (14-1-2) advance to play either No. 8 Liverpool (8-9) or No. 5 Baldwinsville (12-4-2) in the Class AA championship game.
Northstars 1
Maroons 0
As D'Alfonso nudged the ball in, the Maroons junior was about 10 yards out. The entire play happened so quickly and Porten rarely gets an easy goal scored on her watch, so the explanation was plain and simple.
“It was a miscommunication,” Auburn coach George Cosentino said. “It was one mistake that they were able to get through on us. It was just one fluke goal and they were able to hold us. That was it.”
Unfortunately for third-seeded Auburn, that was it. D'Alfonso's score was the only goal of the Section III, Class AA semifinal game and for the second straight Halloween, the Maroons were sent home early after a 1-0 loss at West Genesee high school. They fell to Baldwinsville, 2-1 in overtime at Corcoran High School last year in the same postseason round.
With a handful of penalty kicks (the Northstars had none) and several corner kicks, the Maroons had opportunities to at least tie the contest. When Flannery Nangle took a header into the net in the second half, it looked like the game was headed in that direction before it ricocheted off the crossbar. Many other shots went wide or sailed over the head of Northstars' keeper Chelsea Dunay, who only had two saves in the game.
“I thought we did a great job in the second half,” Cosentino said. “The girls should be very proud of themselves for how they reacted after the goal. We could have easily gotten down on ourselves, but they stayed up and they fought throughout the whole game. I think very highly of them for that.”
Defensively, the Maroons were near perfect, starting with Porten, who recorded eight saves - each one of them more impressive than the last. The Northstars got off 15 shots, four more than the Maroons and Porten was a wall in the net. In front of her, Lauren Dunster, Abby Gamba and Shannon McCormick put together one of their best games of the season.
“Those three all did a great job in the back for us,” Cosentino said. “But they've done that all year long.”
The second-seeded Northstars was also playing with some incentive, after the Maroons handed them their only loss of the season in Auburn's last game of the year, costing state-ranked Cicero-North Syracuse the top seed in the postseason, which went to Christian Brothers Academy. The Northstars beat No. 7 Oswego in the quarterfinals, as the Maroons won a heart stopper over Fayetteville-Manlius last Thursday.
As much as two top defenses played a part in the low-scoring affair, the playing surface seemed to as well. The last two wins for Auburn (14-4) came on grass and the new field behind the West Genesee lacrosse field has turf. Players from both teams seemed to have trouble with their footing at times, and Auburn junior Marissa Slayton went down with a knee injury with 2:37 left in the game after she turned the wrong way on the carpet and had to be carried off the field.
“The turf neutralized a lot of things out there tonight,” Cosentino said. “But it was an awesome game - this team played incredible.”
The Northstars (14-1-2) advance to play either No. 8 Liverpool (8-9) or No. 5 Baldwinsville (12-4-2) in the Class AA championship game.
Northstars 1
Maroons 0
