Stetson Fields scores twice to send Eagles on to Class D championship game.
By JOHN CORYER
Plattsburgh Press Republican Staff Writer
Published November 18, 2007 01:17 am -
ONEONTA -- On a day where the Chazy boys' soccer team created plenty of scoring chances only to come up empty much of the time, it was Stetson Fields who came to the Eagles' rescue Saturday afternoon.
Fields scored both his team's goals, including the game-winner with 39 seconds gone in the first five-minute, sudden-death overtime session as the Eagles outlasted Smithtown Christian, 2-1, at the Oneonta Soccer Hall of Fame Field to advance to the NYSPHSAA Class D championship contest.
The top-ranked Eagles, who are seeking their third state championship in the last four years, will play Section III's Poland, which recorded an impressive 2-0 victory over Section V's Fillmore in the other Final Four semifinal, today at 1 p.m.
Chazy, which entered the contest with a 21-1 overall record, held a big territorial edge in play in the two 10-minute overtimes, but was unable to finish off the Section XI champions.
But, early in the first five-minute stanza, Nolan Ryan took a long direct kick from straight on that Fields ran onto on the right side. The junior then ripped a shot into the net with 39 seconds gone in the stanza to win it.
"Stetson's a great player who can finish," said Chazy head coach Rob McAuliffe. "He had two great finishes today. The second one wasn't easy because he had to chest the ball down first.
"Stetson didn't have a lot of chances to score today, but he finished on the ones he had. He's the reason why we're playing tomorrow."
The Eagles entered the game as the favorite and things started out well for the Section VII champions when Fields put Chazy in front with 12:44 gone in the opening half of play.
Jason Baker got the ball to Fields, who made a run down the left side. Fields then sent a low, hard shot into the net past Crusaders keeper Dereck Adam.
The Eagles, however, were unable to get that all-important second goal.
They came close 15 minutes into the second half when Fields drove a shot low off the post.
"They (Smithtown Christian were a very good team and then defended well," McAuliffe said. "They were organized on defense and well coached.
"I felt we had the opportunities to make it 2-0 in the first half, but were unable to do so. And, we kept pressing for the second goal. We knew we were going to get our chances."
But, at 26:05, the Crusaders drew even when Tom Hanft got the ball on the corner of the box and sent a nice lofting shot into the far corner.
"After having numerous chances, we gave them one opportunity to score and they were able to take advantage of it," McAuliffe said.
Chazy nearly regained the lead with five minutes left in regulation when Ryan was able to get past the Smithtown Christian defense on a breakaway. A Crusader defender, however, did get back into the play enough to bother Ryan, who took a shot that was stopped by Adam."Nolan is banged up," said McAuliffe. "He hurt his knee earlier this year and hurt it again today." Chazy continued to apply pressure in overtime before the Eagles will finally able to break through. "We were putting a lot of people in the box," McAuliffe said. "We were going for it in overtime and not looking to stay back." The Eagles finished with a one-sided 27-6 advantage in shots on goal. Jacob Beeman made four saves in net for Chazy and Adam stopped 16 shots for Smithtown Christian, which came into the game with a 9-5-2 overall record. "We played better than we did last weekend (in a 2-0 win over Sharon Springs)," McAuliffe said. "We played pretty well overall. "But, we will need to do a better job finishing on our chances tomorrow or we'll be in trouble." -- Chazy 2, Smithtown Christian 1, OT Smithtown Christian 0 1 0 0 0 -- 1 Chazy 1 0 0 0 1 -- 2 First half- 1, C, Fields (J. Baker), 12:44. Second half- 2, SC, Hanft, 26:05. First five-minute overtime- 3, C, Fields (Ryan), :39.
CHAZY 2, SMITHTOWN CHRISTIAN 1
Smithtown Christian nipped by state's best
|joseph.staszewski@newsday.com ONEONTA - Smithtown Christian takes pride in never backing down. Anyone who watched the Knights play Section VII's Chazy Central Rural yesterday saw why. They could have easily folded against the state's top-ranked Class D squad. Instead, Smithtown Christian (9-7-3) used superb play from goalie Derek Adam and its defense to force a third overtime, before losing, 2-1, in a boys soccer state semifinal at the Soccer Hall of Fame. "I'm proud of these guys," Smithtown Christian coach Pat Nieto said. "They hung in there. We are known for our intensity and never backing down. At least we proved it." Stetson Fields scored the winner 39 seconds into the third overtime on Nolan Ryan's perfectly placed free kick from midfield. Fields also gave Chazy (23-1) a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. Tom Hanft chipped in a shot to the far post to tie the score at 1 in the 86th minute. Without the play of Adam the score could have been more lopsided. The senior made 13 saves and also stayed in the game after a very hard collision with Ryan with 3:43 left in the first half. "I was not going to come out," Adam said. "This is the biggest game of my life. I was not going to give it to somebody else." "It shows Smithtown Christian is on this map now," Nieto said. "We'll be back."
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