By Rob Potter
GLEN SPEY — After a scoreless first half in Tuesday afternoon’s Section IX Class D soccer semifinal match between the visiting Roscoe Lady Blue Devils and the Eldred Lady Yellowjackets at Brookwood Camp in Glen Spey, one might have thought that the first team to score in the second 40 minutes of regulation play would record the win.
Or perhaps that just one goal would prove to be the winning margin in a contest played during a steady, light rain.
Indeed, the first team to score won the game.
But once the Lady Yellowjackets found the back of the net with one of their shots, they kept making successful shots.
No. 2 seed Eldred (10-7) scored all of its goals in the final 15 minutes of the match on its way to a 4-0 victory and a berth in the Class D title game. The Lady Yellowjackets will meet the top-seeded Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats for the sectional crown at 9 a.m. tomorrow at Faller Field in Middletown.
Amid some confusion and a crowd of players in front of the Roscoe goal, Eldred’s Brenna Brucher scored off an assist from Heather Ouellette with 12:09 remaining.
Less than three minutes later, Ouellette scored a breakaway goal to double her team’s advantage.
Ouellette, a junior striker, registered another unassisted goal with 3:58 to go to give the Lady Yellowjackets a commanding 3-0 lead.
Shannon Hanson finished the scoring with an unassisted goal from close range with 3:09 displayed on the scoreboard clock placed in a corner of the field.
Eldred, which defeated the Lady Blue Devils twice by identical 2-1 scores in the two Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI matches between the teams this autumn, enjoyed a 31-16 advantage in shots on goal in Tuesday’s match. Both teams had just one corner kick.
Roscoe junior goalkeeper Kiera Browne made 21 saves, while Eldred junior goalie Diana Schombs had eight saves.
“We did a better job on offense in the second half,” Eldred Coach Kelly Robertson said. “We were able to get better shots at the goal.”
Robertson also praised Ouellette.
“She is really playing well,” Robertson said.
Robertson, who is in her second season of guiding the Lady Yellowjackets, noted that holding the opposing team without a goal in a postseason game is never easy.
“Diana Schombs, Lauren Hazen, Sam Ferguson and Lauren Alves did a great job on defense and getting the ball back upfield to our offense,” Robertson said.
While the Lady Blue Devils sent many quality shots at Schombs, perhaps their best chance to score a goal occurred with 6:35 remaining in the first half. An Eldred player was called for a hand ball in the goal box and the officials stopped the clock to award a penalty kick to Roscoe.
Abigail Dusseldorp took the penalty kick for the Lady Blue Devils. But Schombs was able to deflect the ball and it ricocheted off the crossbar.
“Both teams played well, but they came out and defended their home field,” Roscoe Coach Brian Smith said.
He noted that the Lady Blue Devils had a great season.
It is the first time since 2001 that Roscoe, which finished its 2009 season with a 5-12 overall record, earned a trip to the sectional tournament.
“I am very proud of all of these players and how much they improved from the beginning of the season,” Smith said.
The game was the scholastic career finale for Roscoe’s seven seniors: Alexa Bullis, Taylor DeVantier, Abigail Dusseldorp, Angelique Feeney, Amanda Huggins, Agnes Piatek and Helena Rae Williams.