By PHIL BLACKWELL
Again, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls soccer team took a tough and relentless path to the state Class A championship game. Again, the Spartans would run into the Long Island-based dynasty that owns more state titles than anyone else.
And again, it would end in disappointment.
In an eerie repeat of 2005, Burnt Hills lost 1-0 to South Side in the class A state finals, this time played at Homer High School.
We had some chances and worked very hard, said Burnt Hills head coach Brian Bold. `The fact that we (mostly) shut them down says a lot about our character.`
All told, it was the third time in four years that Burnt Hills and South Side had met with a state championship on the line. The Spartans won in 2003 in suburban Rochester, but the Cyclones prevailed last year at Union-Endicott.
This would be yet another clash of those two dynasties, as Burnt Hills fought to keep South Side from its third straight state title and 13th crown overall.
For the most part, the Spartans’ defense did keep South Side in check, save for a moment of defensive confusion late in the first half.
Throughout the game, the Cyclones sent waves of attacks at the Spartans, only to meet with constant frustration as Kara Eaker, Lindsay Schumacher, Kelly O’Rourke and their fellow defenders put up the wall. Sophomore goalie Teegan Kelly smoothly handled every chance, too.
In the 30th minute, Kelly tried to kick the ball out of her crease. It went to South Side freshman Carly Beyar, who headed it right back to the net.
Amid a split second of confusion, Kelly and Eaker crossed paths ` and that allowed the ball to trickle past them and roll on the Field Turf into the net.
From her own standpoint, Kelly would recover and stuff everything else the Cyclones tried, finishing with eight saves and earning Most Outstanding Goalie honors by game’s end.
`Teegan played a phenomenal match,` said Bold.
Burnt Hills got its share of chances in the second half, but South Side turned them all way, completing a post-season where it went seven games without allowing a goal.
All this followed a harrowing Class A state semifinal at SUNY-Cortland the previous day, where the Spartans needed some late heroics to get past Victor (Section V) by that same 1-0 margin.
Yet again, the Burnt Hills defense played a starring role, containing the Blue Devils throughout the first half and making two big stops midway through the second half to keep the game scoreless in a cold, driving rain.
The game was inching toward overtime when, with 8:43 left in regulation, the Spartans converted on a corner kick as, amid the scramble, Monica Wolf poked the ball past Victor goalie Kaitlin Dolan.
Down the stretch, Victor tried hard to counter, and as time ran out, Dolan ran 90 yards out of her crease to take a shot from the point ` and it just went over the Spartans’ net, allowing Burnt Hills to move forward.
The wave of disappointment on Saturday did not last too long. Hearty Burnt Hills fans gave out long and loud cheers as each player received their silver medals, with Kelly getting the loudest applause. And Bold gave each player a hug, too, an appreciation for all they had accomplished.
Burnt Hills has a good chance to do this again, as at least seven starters could come back in 2007, a group toughened by all the big games it has played the last two years ` and still hungry to win it all, especially after the events of this state final.
`We’ve got a great program, and Burnt Hills is only getting stronger,` said Bold.“