RFA, Camden, Clinton, Little Falls win sectional field hockey titles

VERONA - There were no repeats Sunday at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill's Sheveron Stadium.

Section III crowned field hockey champions in four classes and none returned to the winner's circle from 2022.

Rome Free Academy ended the day with an overtime win over Cicero-North Syracuse, reversing the outcome from last year's Class A final. Camden's win in Class B at the start of the day ended Holland Patent's string of championships, Little Falls won a title in its return to Class D, and Class C champion Clinton had already knocked out last year's winner in the semifinals.

Three teams will be back in Verona for regional play against Section IV Nov. 5. Little Falls and Clinton will return Wednesday to determine Section III's Class C entry for the three-team state tournament. The Class C/D match is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.

"This is where the fun begins," Camden coach Shannon McPheron said, thinking back to a past state tournament appearance with snow piled up around the field at Cicero-North Syracuse.

Class A Windsor, Class B Vestal and Class C Whitney Point won Sunday's Section IV finals and represent Section III's regional opposition. Vestal and Whitney Point are reigning state champions; Whitney Point has won two in a row.Final Four play takes place the following weekend on Long Island.

Class A: Rome Free Academy 1, Cicero-North Syracuse 0, overtime

Motivated by revenge, the Black Knights from Rome Free Academy broke a scoreless tie 2 1/2 minutes into overtime play and beat Cicero-North Syracuse 1-0 for the Class A sectional championship.

"Way more fun," Rome Free Academy coach Mackenzie Welter said. "We won. How could you not be in a better mood (than after last year's final)?"

Cicero-North Syracuse (14-4-0) had beaten Rome Free Academy (17-1-0) in the finals two years in a row - 2-1 in 2021 and 3-2 last fall - and dealt the Black Knights their only defeat during the regular season this year. The schools have now met in each of the last five postseasons.

"Finally, after three years," said Fiona McMahon, a junior who scored the decisive goal with an assist from her sister Isibeal. "This was a huge redemption game."

Cicero-North Syracuse had scored twice in the fourth quarter to win last year's final. The Northstars were 2-0 winners when the teams played Sept. 22.

The defenses from the top two seeds locked each other down and each team recorded six shots. The sixth Rome Free Academy shot found the back of the cage off Fiona McMahon's stick.

Cicero-North Syracuse had been awarded a penalty corner early in overtime - the Northstars had a 12-9 advantage for the game but were unable to score. Cicero-North Syracuse had scored the fourth most goals in the section this fall.

The championship is the first for Rome Free Academy since 2009. The Black Knights play Windsor in next weekend's regional playoff. Windsor (14-3-0) shut out Maine-Endwell 2-0 in Sunday's Section IV final.

Class B: Camden 2, Holland Patent 1

Holland Patent entered the sectional playoffs with five consecutive championships and a No. 1 seed. Camden ended the streak.

The teams traded goals in the first quarter and Camden broke the tie in the third. Junior Cameron Shenk scored both goals for Camden (15-3-0), one with an assist from Avery Prievo, and Cassidy Reader scored for Holland Patent (12-6-0).

Alyssa Vera made two saves for Camden's Blue Devils while Ava Larry had five for Holland Patent's Golden Knights.

The teams played two one-goal games during Tri-Valley League play in the regular season with the visiting team winning each game.

Camden's regional opponent will be Vestal, a 6-2 winner Sunday against Afton/Harpursville in sectional play. The Blue Devils last won a sectional title in 2019.

Class C: Clinton 1, Mt. Markham 0, overtime

Clinton's top-seeded Comets were 1-0 winners in a game decided quickly once it got to overtime and space opened up on the field.

Clinton's top seeded Comets (16-1-1) were awarded a penalty corner 30 seconds into the first 10-minute overtime.

Junior Lauren Rey received the hit out on the corner, maneuvered around one defender and fired the winning shot one minute into the period.

After convincing herself that, "OK, you can do this," Rey said said her main thought on the decisive corner was, "We have to score here."

Mt. Markham (13-6-0) had actually had a chance a short time before. The Mustangs were awarded a corner with 53 seconds remaining in regulation, 11 seconds after calling a timeout with possession at Clinton's end of the field. They did not generate a shot as time expired.

The Comets will be back at Sheveron Stadium Wednesday for the play-down match against Class D champion Little Falls. The teams did not meet during the regular season, but Little Falls did beat Clinton 2-1 last fall in the Class C semifinals; Clinton had won 2-1 during the regular season in 2022, and the teams split two decisions in the regular season in 2021.

Wednesday's winner plays Section IV Whitney Point Nov. 5 in Verona.

Class D: Little Falls 5, Morrisville-Eaton 2

The Little Falls Mounties were back in Class D for the Section III field hockey playoffs this fall, entering them as a No. 1 seed and finishing as the champion.

The Mounties (14-4-0), Class D champions in 2021 and Class C finalists last fall, scored two goals in the third quarter and two more in the fourth Sunday and pulled away from a halftime tie to defeat Morrisville-Eaton (15-3-0) 5-2.

Freshman Jayden Regan scored three goals for her second varsity hat trick, and senior Avery McLaughlin, the team's leading scorer, added one goal and three assists.

Regan opened the scoring with a goal 94 seconds into the game. Morrisville-Eaton matched that goal three minutes later, but the early goal perked up the No. 1 seeds.

"(The players') team goal was to score first," coach Monica Tooley said. "They feel like once we score one, we're gonna be OK."

The score stayed tied at 1 through halftime and into the third quarter. Adriana Izzo, another freshman, broke the tie with her goal just over three minutes into the second half. The Mounties held an 8-1 edge in shots up to that point and had six corners to the Warriors' two despite yielding one as time expired at the end of the first half and giving the No. 2 seed a opportunity to score with no clock; the Mounties broke up the play without allowing a shot.

The Mounties would score again on their next corner, going up 3-1 on Regan's second goal.

They did not, however, escape the end of the period as they had the second. Sophomore Addison Shantal recorded the second shot and second goal for Morrisville-Eaton with 17 seconds on the clock.

Regan scored early in the fourth quarter, McLaughlin added her goal midway through, and the Mounties missed a chance to extend the lead when August Thompson stopped a penalty stroke.

Katelyn Doxtater scored the first Morrisville-Eaton goal, Molly Orth was credited with an assist, and Thompson made 13 saves.

Makena Tooley had an assist for Little Falls while goalie Olivia Brand was credited with one save.

Little Falls plays Class C Clinton Wednesday for a spot in the state tournament. The Mounties were beaten 1-0 by Canastota in the play-down game in 2021, and Canastota also beat Little Falls 2-1 in last year's Class C final.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: RFA, Camden, Clinton, Little Falls win Section III field hockey titles