Girls soccer: Righetti's late goal helps send Somers to the Class AA state semifinals
WALLKILL - Tiana Righetti remembers that run vividly, cheering from the stands when Somers won its last state championship. She was a 7-year-old then, living vicariously through her older cousins and imagining herself being on the field performing as they did.
"I knew from then that I wanted to do that and be like them," Tiana said of following in the footsteps of Melissa and Stephanie Righetti. "It's crazy how time flies, and it feels unreal now that we're the ones actually doing it."
But she's helping the girls soccer team create some more cherished memories, scoring another winning goal in the 75th minute as Somers edged Section 9's Valley Central, 2-1, Saturday in a Class AA regional final.
"We've been dreaming about this for years, and when it finally happens, it's like, 'Wow!'" senior Jordan McMorrow said of the Tuskers returning to the final four for the first time in almost a decade. "It's so exciting to see your work result in something like this."
Somers eked out another late win, continuing an undefeated season and the pursuit of its first state title since 2014. The Tuskers (22-0) face Section 5's Spencerport in a state semifinal on Saturday, 9:30 a.m. at Tompkins Cortland Community College.
Dream season: Undefeated Somers tops Greeley for Section 1 title
In the clutch: Late goal lifts Valley Central to Section 9 championship
"It's a huge accomplishment," coach Kelci Hegg said. "The culture that's been created here, getting to states is the expectation and they've been working so hard toward that. I'm incredibly proud of them."
The discussions afterward included what side goes with Panera Bread's grilled cheese sandwich. See, frivolous matters can be afforded thought in celebration.
The Section 1 champs survived a minor scare in their subregional, Righetti scoring with four minutes left to beat Vestal. The circumstances and the sequence were almost duplicated on Saturday.
Adrianna Cooke received a through ball and played a touch pass to Righetti on the left flank, and the moonlighting forward drilled a shot into the far corner with 4:27 remaining.
"When she got one-on-one with the keeper, I knew she wasn't missing," Hegg said. "Putting her up top was a difference-maker. She's a natural midfielder, but she's got scoring skills and the attacking mindset."
She's also got an excellent rapport with Cooke, the tandem connecting several times on give-and-go goals throughout the season. Righetti said they pulled off "basically the same play" on both game-winners in the regionals.
Syracuse commit Julia Arbelaez had put Somers on the board in the 22nd minute with a liner from the 20.
The back line of McMorrow, Natalia Sanchez, Lily Mazzella and Marley Hawkins excelled, withstanding the Vikings' runs, denying them quality attempts and winning more than their share of 50/50 balls. Julia Schmidberger had four saves.
But an inadvertent handball resulted in Valley Central being awarded a free kick with 27:55 remaining, and Sophia Stahl lofted a tying goal into the upper left corner for the Vikings (12-5).
"We've done a solid job all season and we work well together," McMorrow said of the defense. "We got a little unlucky on the handball, but we didn't let up.
"When Tiana got a chance on the break, I knew it was going in," she continued. "I have a lot of faith in her, so there was never a doubt."
If someone had made this prediction to a 7-year-old Righetti, seated in the stands at SUNY Cortland, there wouldn't have been a doubt then, either.
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Girls soccer: Somers tops Valley Central to reach 'AA' state semifinal
