The Mustangs (19-2-1) fell 1-0 to Section XI's Center Moriches in the Class B state finals Nov. 22 at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta.
T.J. Thompson scored the lone goal with 23:05 remaining in the game to give the Red Devils their first state title in school history. Thompson picked up the ball on the left side, firing it pass diving keeper Jon Quick.
Center Moriches’ defense held off the pressuring Mustangs’ offense in the final minutes to hold onto the shutout.
“So few teams get this far,” head coach Jennifer Griffin said. “Of course, you want to win it all and you hope it all comes together for you. It just didn’t come together for us.”
The two squads were evenly matched throughout much of the first half, each just missing out on opportunities by inches. For the Mustangs, Luke McNaney was cut off by the Red Devils’ defense on a quick approach and then Center Moriches came up with a big save off a Mustangs’ corner.
James Whelan created a chance for the Red Devils midway into the half but the shot went just wide.
As the clock wound down in the first half, Center Moriches’ pressure began to increase and Marcellus fell back onto its heels.
“We didn’t really get our attack going the way it normally does today,” Griffin said. “We struggled to get our transition game going, to get our attack going. That, to me, would summarize our struggle.”
Center Moriches’ opened the second half with just as much pressure, forcing Quick (four saves) to tip a free kick shot over the bars three minutes in.
“(It) was a great save,” Griffin said. “ He came out well on the ball in the air. He didn’t have to make a lot of saves but the play he had to make he made consistently well. (We were) really solid in the back. All the defenders were.”
Thompson followed suit nearly 14 minutes later to break the deadlock.
The Mustangs threatened several times right after, but the Red Devils’ defense cut off any approaches. Marcellus’ momentum was also interrupted several times as it lost possession due to fouls.
In the end, Center Moriches’ defense won the battle.
“They (Center Moriches) defended well,” Griffin said.
A day earlier, the Mustangs shut out Broadalbin-Perth 2-0 Nov. 21 to reach the finals.
Fired up to be back at the state final four for the first time in four years, the Mustangs took less than 11 minutes to pull in front.
Cal Filtch’s pass to the middle from the right side appeared headed for Glose – but when Glose ran too far ahead of the ball, McNaney swooped in, untouched, from the left and poured home the go-ahead goal.
Broadalbin-Perth took just four shots in the first half, to the Mustangs’ eight, and rarely got good scoring chances. And even though B-P applied more pressure early in the second half, the Mustangs’ defense kept denying them chances.
Midway through the half, in the 59th minute of play, Kyle Jankowski caused a turnover deep in B-P’s end, then quickly passed to Greg Ramsden, who put home the insurance goal.
Marcellus graduates 14 seniors: Ramsden, Quick, Zach Finkle, James Kinney, Jose Rodriguez-Doran, Mark Schmidt, Keith White, Ben Bednarski, Tom Quinlan, Jon Schoonmaker, Zach Garrison, Mike Tao, Tom Glose and Joe Garrant.
“I’m really proud of what they’ve done,” Griffin said. “I hope they look back and see all of the great things that accomplished to get here. They’re a really united group and I want them to always remember this for the rest of their lives as what we did together.”
