Cooperstown girls rally from slow start for 2-1 victory
Oct. 19—The Cooperstown girls soccer team overcame a slow start to deny 18th-seeded Sandy Creek's upset bid with a 2-1 win at home in the second round of the Section III Class C playoffs Thursday.
Sophia Hotaling had a goal and an assist while Mia Pelcer scored once for the Hawkeyes.
Maggie Wallace scored the only goal for the Comets.
Brenna Seamon had four saves for Cooperstown, while Scout Preston was busy in goal with 27 saves in the loss for Sandy Creek.
The second-seeded Hawkeyes had chances in the first half but were unable to get anything past Preston.
Wallace scored for Sandy Creek with four minutes before the break to give the Comets a 1-0 lead going into the half.
With the Hawkeyes needing a momentum shift, Pelcer provided just that almost immediately with a goal three minuets into the second half to answer the late first-half goal.
Cooperstown coach Jennifer Pindar said it took some adjustments to get better results heading into the final 40 minutes.
"We did change our formation and we kept moving the girls around and then we changed it yet again," she said.
Following some more empty chances for the Hawkeyes, Hotaling was able to put one just over the reach of Preston to give them a 2-1 lead, one they would hold the rest of the way.
"Absolutely," Pindar said when asked if she thought winning a close game to open sectionals would help give the team confidence moving forward. "We were down at half and we've been down before and we've come back and we've tied and we've won, so this is good because the games are just going to get harder and harder."
Cooperstown will host the winner of Thursday's Mount Markham and Dolgeville matchup Saturday in the quarterfinal round.
"We're just looking forward to playing our very best and get that win," Pindar said.
"Just really proud of the girls for fighting back and getting the win for us," she added about Thursday's game.
Cooperstown 2, Sandy Creek 1
Coop ... 0-2-2
SC ... 1-0-1
Coop: Sophia Hotaling 1-1, Mia Pelcer 1-0
SC: Maggie Wallace 1-0
Shots-Corner Kicks: Coop 38-2, SC 5-1
Goalies: Brenna Seamon (Coop) 4, Scout Preston (SC) 27
Oneonta 3, Norwich 0
The Oneonta volleyball team earned a three-set victory over Norwich at home Thursday, winning by scores of 25-16, 25-18, 25-20.
Leading the Yellowjackets in the win were Sarah Brown with nine aces, Aubry Microni with 11 assists, Hayden LeFever with five kills and one block and Izzy Giacomelli with four digs.
Oneonta (8-8) will be at the Horseheads Tournament Saturday.
Game scores: 25-16, 25-18, 25-20
OHS: Sarah Brown 9 aces; Aubry Microni 11 assists; Hayden LeFever 5 kills, 1 block; Izzy Giacomelli 4 digs; Sajjal Ahmad 1 block
N: n/a
