OFA Girls Rally, Heuvelton Rides Ball Control To Tourney Finals OFA JV's Advance
For the host Blue Devils it was a matter of filling up an important gap.
For Heuvelton it was a matter of following up on a break-through goal in the final minute of the first half in the opening round of the OFA Girls Soccer Preseason Tournament on Monday.
Heuvelton used a goal in the closing seconds before intermission as the springboard to a 3-0 NAC West League victory over Lisbon and the host Blue Devils regrouped from a 1-0 deficit to gain a 2-1 victory over Class B opponent Salmon River of the NAC East League.
The Devils and Bulldogs will meet for the title tonight after Lisbon and Salmon River meet in the 6 p.m. consolation game. OFA also qualified for the JV title game and will meet Potsdam at 4 p.m.
OFA 2 - Salmon River 1: A matchup of OFA's speed and Salmon River's long range shooting and crossing ability went to the host Blue Devils who rallied from a 1-0 deficit on two break-away goals by striker Chelsea Martin.
"We had a big gap in the midfield and once I spoke to Caily Arquitt she went out, stepped up and filled it. As a team we started to move to ball much better as the game went on," said OFA Coach Lauren Morley.
"Salmon River had some very nice plays and clogged the middle on defense. We seemed to have a lapse after we missed a penalty shot opportunity in the first half and when they scored early in the second half. But we bounced back both times."
The Shamrocks opened the scoring seven minutes into the second half when Karyss Terrance hammered a long shot from the left wing into far right corner of the net. The Devils answered with 16:44 remaining in regulation when Martin took a midfield steal and sprinted past the defensive pursuit to convert a one-on-one with goaltender Amanda Reome (11 saves) who made a diving save on a penalty shot in the first half.
A Caily Arquitt chip pass over the defense sent Martin home free for another break-away opportunity where she deeked the goalie and directed the ball home with her left foot.
"Chelsea Martin was playing like a low striker so she could help out in the midfield and she showed patience and confidence on her two break-aways," said Coach Morley. "Mackenzie Cole was just relentless up front and I was really pleased with how two of our young players Nikki Holmes and Meg Dodge were physical in the exchange on the loose balls."
Allysha Bracy handled 11 back-stopping a defensive effort anchored by the poised play of sweeper Alana Ashley and some clutch break-ups by stopper Jessica Denoncourt.
Heuvelton 3 - Lisbon 0: Sara Sloan's ability to carry a play to its maximum sparked the Bulldogs' to a first round win which was also a league game. Sloan provided a break-through goal with just 40 seconds remaining in the first half following up on her own blocked shot, taking a one-touch pass from Ashlyn Piercey and lofting a shot into the net well out of the reach of Lisbon keeper Jackie Sovie who made several stellar stops in a nine-save performance.
"We picked it up the second half but we still didn't play as well as we did against Chateaugay Saturday," said Heuvelton Coach Gus Burns.
"We need to get that to that level in the finals."
In the 10th minute of the second half, Sloan used a dribble drive in traffic which culminated with a shot by Alexis Weidner which deflected off a defender into the net. Weidner netted the third goal with 25:49 directing a shot range shot just inside the right goalpost from close range.
Sanna Jaquith handled four saves for a shutout for the 1-0-1 Bulldogs.
Heuvelton 3 - Lisbon 0
First Half: 1. H - Sloan (Piercey) 39th, Second Half: 2. H - Weidner (Sloan) 50th, 3. H - Weidner (una) 55th. Saves: Jaquith (H) 4, Sovie (L) 9.
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OFA 2 - SR 1:
First Half: 1. S - Karyss Terrance (una) 39th, Second Half: 2. O - Chelsea Martin (una) 64th, 3. O - Chelsea Martin (Caily Arquitt) 69th. Saves: Allysha Bracy (O) 11, Amanda Reome (SR) 11.
The OFA JV's opened their seeason with a 3-0 win over Gouverneur to advance to the championship game of the tournament against Potsdam which defeated Salmon River 3-1.
Shannon Tooley scored thee first goals by netting a deflected cross and burying a direct kick over the Wildcat goaltender. Stacey Barr tallied the third goal converting a nice cross from Kaitlin Sheppard.
Erica Chase posted the shutout in goal for Coach Kelley Geary who created Kaitlin Piercey for excellent outlet passes from the defensive end and halfbacks Jocelyn Fifield, Stacy Barr and Jasmine Brien for controlling the midfield.
