Inga Haynes scored twice as Burke defeated Highland, 2-0, in the Section 9 Class B girls soccer championship game Saturday, Oct. 31.
Offense came at a premium. The teams combined for just eight shots on goal, and the match was largely a battle for midfield possession and smart passing.
Burke put the first three shots of the game on net, the last of them a goal by Haynes with 4 minutes left in the first half. Shortly before that, Highland senior Kaylee Arciuolo was shown a yellow card. Junior Sophie Valentino recorded Highland’s first shot, off a corner kick, with 2 minutes remaining in the half.
Haynes struck again early in the second half, scoring off a corner kick with 28 minutes left in the game. Highland weathered another Burke shot a minute later and continued to fight for consistent possession and the chance to get back into the game.
That chance came, with Valentino and junior Sadie Hollifield each getting off a shot with 13 and 12 minutes remaining, respectively.
Neither found the net, and they were the last of Highland’s offensive efforts. Senior Raquel Marreiros received a yellow card with 11 minutes left.
“The girls gave it a really great effort, and they gave it their best,” Highland head coach Rebecca Palmatier said. “They’ve had a wonderful, great season; one of the best we’ve had in four years. They gave it everything they got today, and they played hard. So, it was good.”
“It was a good game,” said Arciuolo, who is also a team captain. “It was a competitive game,” she added, emotionally, “[but] we just couldn’t pull through with the win.”
- Eric Johnston
Huskies edge Rhinebeck in OT
The Huskies reached the final three days earlier, beating Rhinebeck in overtime in the Section 9 semifinals on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The semifinal was a defensive battle through regulation. Each goalie made only two saves in the first half, and neither defense gave up many good looks in the second. Highland had a chance to score with about nine minutes left but couldn’t convert. In the final seconds, Rhinebeck defenders chased down Highland midfielder Sophie Valentino on a break to force overtime.
The Huskies were far more aggressive in the extra period, earning three corner kicks in the first couple of minutes. Rhinebeck came close on a corner kick with 15 minutes left in the first overtime and again with 8:30 remaining.
Highland’s Raquel Marreiros broke the tie on a free kick with 3:32 left in the first overtime.
“I think it put them back on their heels and gave us the advantage there,” Highland assistant coach Rene’ Rivera said of the Huskies’ multiple scoring chances in overtime.
The teams met for the fourth time this season. Head coach Rebecca Palmatier said facing an opponent that often makes a win harder to come by. She credited her coaching staff and her players’ perseverance.
“You have to do something different. Their perseverance, will and effort throughout that full overtime and to keep going with that, that’s what we’ve been talking about all year,” Palmatier said.
- Frank DeBari