So much of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls soccer team’s annual routine is joyful work hard in the off-season, practice even harder in August, grind through a tough regular season, earn a Section II, Class A title and make it to the state final four.
It’s only the last part continually running into the most accomplished girls soccer program in state history ` that needs any kind of fixing.
For the third year in a row, the Spartans’ dreams of a state title expired at the expense of Long Island powerhouse South Side, which prevailed 2-0 in last Friday’s class A state semifinal at Tompkins County Community College near Cortland.
Hailing from Rockville Centre, South Side had already crushed the hopes of all kinds of opposing teams on its way to 13 previous state championships, the last three in a row.
In both 2005 (at Union-Endicott) and 2006 (at Homer), the Cyclones denied the Spartans in championship games. Here, they met a round earlier, but the result was exactly the same.
What didn’t help was the bitter, winter-like conditions. An overnight snowfall covered the turf at the college, forcing a long process of removal that delayed the game’s start for an hour.
When it finally did get started, the bitterness remained ` temperatures in the 30s, snow flying through the air and a chilly wind blowing 20 m.p.h., gusting higher at times.
For the first half, Burnt Hills mostly played into that wind, and it showed. South Side utterly dominated the flow of play, not allowing the Spartans to take a single shot.
Meanwhile, the Cyclones’ attack did not waste time seizing the advantage. Just 4:12 into the game, Spartan goalie Teegan Kelly could not get a full handle on Alaina Beyar’s shot, allowing Crystal Dunn ` the Cyclones leading scorer ` to poke home the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
In all, South Side would take the game’s first 25 shots. It took every bit of talent and determination by Kelly and the rest of the Spartans defense to keep the margin from getting too lopsided, as Kelly finished with 21 saves.
Still, in the 26th minute, the Cyclones doubled its margin when Beyar fed Mary Kate Krol for a short shot that eluded Kelly and found the net.
Down by two at the break, Burnt Hills picked up the wind advantage and finally got a chance to attack. Knowing the deficit, it aggressively dribbled into the South Side back line, only to meet a tough band of Cyclone defenders. Burnt Hills managed several shots, but they were all from long range and proved to be nothing for South Side to worry about as it rendered its seventh straight shutout.
A day later, South Side made history, beating Pittsford Mendon 4-2 for its fourth consecutive state title, its 28th straight postseason win and its 14th overall state crown. Only Saratoga Springs (girls cross country) and West Genesee (boys lacrosse) have won as many state titles in a single sport.
Burnt Hills concluded its season with a record of 11-11-2.“