Field hockey: Mamaroneck blanks Kingston 3-0 to advance to state Class A semifinals
ACCORD — The first goal scored in Sunday's Mamaroneck-Kingston Class A regional field hockey final belonged to a Mamaroneck freshman, who was on the junior varsity until playoffs started.
The last two belonged to a senior veteran.
That combination was all Mamaroneck needed as the Section 1 Class A champion blanked Section 9 champ Kingston 3-0 to advance to Saturday's state semifinals.
Turning point
Kingston trailed 1-0 at the half but did a lot better job creating offense in the third quarter, including in the opening minutes when Mamaroneck goalie Jane McNally came up with a good save to preserve the lead.
With the game very much undecided entering the fourth quarter, Ava Gristina found Hannah Rogoff on the left post with a crossing pass and Rogoff lifted it inside the left post off a reverse to give Mamaroneck a two-goal advantage with 11:50 to play.
But Rogoff wasn't done.
Little more than a minute later, a shot caromed off Kingston goalie Kara Houston to Rogoff on the left post and she lifted it into the cage for Mamaroneck's third goal.
Player of the game
Rogoff shared player of the game honors with defenseman Natalie Mahland, who was one of the big reasons Kingston had few shots and little penetration in the circle. In fact, it didn't get a penalty corner.
By the numbers
Catherine D'Arcy scored the game's first goal with a drive from just inside the circle.
But Houston kept her squad in the game, making 17 saves. One of her best came late in the first half on a deflection off a corner shot.
McNally had four stops.
Mamaroneck had 15 penalty corners.
Both Mamaroneck's Sydney McMullen and Kingston's Norah Prizzi played well defensively.
Tigers to states: DeModna scores, Tiger defense shuts down Taconic Hills in 1-0 Class C win
Hornets lose 1-0: Rondout Valley scores in 2OT to end Lakeland season, advance to states
Playoff scouting report: State regional final previews for Lakeland, North Salem and Mamaroneck
Section 1 champions: Mahland and Rogoff score as Mamaroneck beats top-seed Scarsdale 2-0
Quotable
Kingston coach Kristy Nissen said her team seemed nervous in the first quarter but settled down after that. She said at the half, she told her players, "We can take this. We have the skill and the talent."
But despite playing better in the second half, she said her squad still had a "very tough time" offensively.
"Mamaroneck played very well. They made us work," she said.
Rogoff said she was looking for a "powerful lift" on her second goal, seeing Houston, who had to move left to right, starting to go down as she scrambled across.
"We're just giving all every game. We're just playing our hardest," Rogoff added.
D'Arcy, who also had a goal earlier in the Section 1 playoffs against Mahopac, noted no defender was on her when she scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.
"I'm really happy to get to experience this with this team. They're all good and nice,' she said.
Next up
Kingston finished the season 9-3.
Mamaroneck, 17-2-1, will play Section 2's Shenendehowa High School in the Class A semifinals Saturday at Centereach High School on Long Island.
Mamaroneck coach John Savage has watched four tapes of Shenendehowa and said the Plainsmen are "almost like a mirror image" of his team.
"It should be another great game," he said.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at both @HaggertyNancy and at @LoHudHockey.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Field hockey: Rogoff scores twice as Mamaroneck blanks Kingston 3-0
