The Pine Bush Bushmen came into the Section 9 Class A field hockey championship game shorthanded.

One player entered the game on crutches, and coach Samantha Schwartz was unable to attend the game due to an injury. And then, there were the Kingston Tigers at full strength, standing between the Bushmen and the sectional championship.

Like usual.

They continued to stand between the Bushmen and their goal as sophomore Pepper Platte scored two goals as Kingston won the section championship with a 3-0 victory on Wednesday night at Taconic Hills Central School in Craryville.

It was the third time the two teams had squared off this season, all three won by the Tigers. The Tigers beat the Bushmen at Pine Bush High School’s Alumni Field, 4-0, on Oct. 9, and they met again in the Mid Hudson Athletic League semifinals on Oct. 22, 3-0, at Dietz Stadium in Kingston.

The Tigers got on the board at the end of the first quarter with a goal by Mattingly Logan.

After a scoreless second quarter, Platte scored a single goal in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
She doubled the Tigers lead when she launched a shot into the top, left corner of the cage, past Pine Bush goalkeeper Grace Grant. Brooke Longo assisted on the goal.

The same duo put the final nail into the Bushmen’s season late in the fourth quarter, when Platte scored off an assist from Longo with 4:18 remaining in the game.

The Tigers will move onto the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A regional championship game on Saturday at Arlington High School against the Section 1 champion.

The Bushmen, however, will head into the offseason losing six seniors: Kailey Fobert, Christine Omosebi, Jordyn Wilson, Meaghan Wishinski, Leah O’Donnell and longtime goalkeeper Grace Grant. O’Donnell and Grant are two of the Bushmen’s three captains.

Sophomore Kara Wittenberg also served as a team captain. She will lead back a group of expected returners that will include juniors Abigail Hansen, Grace Coleman, Madison Perry, Jaslenne Ingenito and Juila Tanner, along with sophomores Ariana Nunes, and Emily Muro.

Once again, they will try for another crack at the Section 9 Class A championship, and once again, the Kingston Tigers – a team that is only graduating two seniors – will stand in their way.