No. 3. No. 2. No. 1.
Those were the higher seeds Bethlehem knocked off to win the Section 2 Class AA girls soccer title.
The No. 6 Lady Eagles completed their run through the Sectional field by beating top-seeded Saratoga Springs 2-1 in the Class AA final Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Stillwater High School.
As a result, Bethlehem advanced to the regional final against Section 3 champion Liverpool Saturday, Nov. 8 – a game the Lady Eagles won 2-1 in overtime (see related story on Page 14). Bethlehem coach Tom Rogan said it was quite an accomplishment for a Bethlehem team with only two seniors on the roster.
“When we take a step back and look at the totality of what we did, it’s amazing,” said Rogan.
As was the case in beating No. 2 Shenendehowa 2-1 in the semifinals Nov. 1, the Lady Eagles staked themselves to a 2-0 lead before holding on for the one-goal victory over Saratoga, which entered the contest ranked No. 4 in New York among Class AA teams.
“The mentality going in was we had nothing to lose … just go out and win it,” said Bethlehem junior goaltender Miranda Manziano.
Both Bethlehem goals came off free kicks by Madison Ehring. In both cases, Ehring lofted kicks that landed at the feet of her teammates in front of Saratoga goaltender Julia McDonald, which led to goals by Holly Moore in the first half and Shannon Russo in the second half.
“Her kicks were on point,” said Kaylee Rickert, who assisted on Moore’s goal by deflecting Ehring’s kick to the freshman midfielder. “Everything we needed from her, she gave us.”
“Right in that tantalizing spot where it’s too far for the goaltender to get it, but not close enough for the defense to turn and recover,” said Rogan.
Bethlehem’s defense made one mistake in the game, and it cost the Lady Eagles a goal. Bethlehem over-pursued Saratoga as it was crossing the ball outside Bethlehem’s penalty box, which allowed Theresa Starnes to get free and launch a long shot that tucked inside the left post to get the Blue Streaks on the scoreboard with 29:30 left in the second half.
Bethlehem made certain it wouldn’t relinquish its 2-1 lead the rest of the night, though. The Lady Eagles prevented Saratoga from getting another quality shot on goal, which allowed them to celebrate their first Sectional title in three years.
“I thought we could do it,” said Manziano, who needed to make only three saves to gain the victory. “We just had to work as a team to accomplish what we set out to do.”
