CORTLAND – Wilson knew it had a tall task ahead of itself in the Class B girls soccer championship on Sunday.
Its opponent, Schalmont from Section II (Albany area), was undefeated and had outscored its opponents, 147-11, coming in.
The Lakewomen came in banged up, having just played 110 minutes of soccer, plus penalty kicks, the day before. It was evident on the pitch.
Schalmont (23-0) controlled play all afternoon at Cortland State en route to a 2-0 win and a state title. Wilson (20-3) played in its own end for much of the match and couldn’t get any serious threats moving forward.
“They were easily the best team we’ve seen all year,” Wilson coach Thomas Baia said. “They were better. There’s some comfort in that, knowing that you lost to a better team. I’ve been on the end where you lose to a team you think you’re better than and that really hurts, but our girls gave it all they had.”
The Lakewomen didn’t leave without any hardware, though. On top of a runner-up plaque, defender Zipporah Barrett was named Wilson’s Most Outstanding Player and Emily Kelly earned the game’s Most Outstanding Goalie award.
Kelly, a sophomore, played brilliantly for the second straight day, totaling 39 saves over the weekend (17 Sunday).
“I’m sure they’re going to know her name around here,” Baia said. “Certainly the two teams that we played this weekend will remember her.”
“Amazing,” Kelly said of the honor. “I have to owe it to my team though. They’re the ones who have to do all the work pretty much.”
Despite the barrage of shots, Schalmont couldn’t beat Kelly until 9 minutes, 30 seconds were left in the game. Eighth-grader Davia Rossi maneuvered her way through a couple of Wilson defenders before she buried it in the bottom-right corner of the net.
“It was an open spot, I knew she was going to shoot and I just tried to cut down the angle and rush at her,” Kelly said. “But she kept her composure and she slipped it by me.”
As if Kelly didn’t do enough between the pipes, she was subbed out with 5:20 left to be put on offense. The Sabres struck 1:06 later, with Kelly still on the bench, on a beautiful free kick that bent into the top-left corner of the net.
“Our thinking at that point is 1-0, 2-0, what’s the difference?” Baia said. “We wanted to take a chance to tie it up.”
Sunday also carried another meaning for Wilson. It would have been the 18th birthday of Sarah Johnson, who tragically passed away in 2012 when an explosion leveled her family’s home.
The Lakewomen have been wearing a patch with her number and initials to honor her, as she would have been a senior on the team.
“They were playing for a friend they lost a few years ago and they were playing hard for her,” Baia said. “It made losing hurt just a little bit more, but in a couple days they’ll look back and see how much they inspired their community and friends.”
Wilson will graduate only four seniors from its squad this year, so a return to the state tournament is a distinct possibility in 2016. Three of those players, tri-captains Lauren Courturier, Leah Herman and Barrett, played a huge part in this season’s success.
“We got a lot of kids back,” Baia said. “It’ll be a challenge to replace our captains. Our captains were the glue that held the team together all year and we’ll be hard pressed to replace them.
“But there’s a lot of kids coming up and as long as we return No. 13,” Kelly, “there’s always a chance.”
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