By RYAN HAYNER
PLATTSBURGH — Jason Fenner gathered his team together in a huddle, telling them to quiet down.
"All this year I've been saying we are not talking about states," he said, pausing for a moment. "We're talking about states!"
The Seton Catholic girls' soccer team erupted into a well-earned celebration, as the Knights scored early and held off a feisty Cambridge squad to win, 1-0, in a NYSPHSAA Class C quarterfinal at Plattsburgh High School.
The Knights (15-4) braved chilling rain to advance to the final four for the second consecutive year. Seton Catholic will play the winner of Monday's matchup between Stony Brook and S.S. Seward on Nov. 20 at Cortland State.
"I'm really proud of these girls because the bar was set really high in the beginning of the year, and its one thing to make it to the states for the first time as a school, but it's another thing to go right back the next year," Seton Catholic coach Jason Fenner said.
Just 45 seconds into the game, Seton Catholic's Lindsey Bushey footed a shot just over the goalie's reach for the only goal of the game.
"I looked up and I saw the goalie had been out further, and I just let it rip. And it went right through her hands," Bushey said.
"It broke their backs right off and that set the tone for us, but we still had the whole game left," Fenner said. "I tell you what, they played their hearts out."
Cambridge (11-7-1) came into the game having scored 11 goals in three postseason games. But the Knights were able to limit the Indians chances throughout the game, clearing effectively when the ball was bouncing around in the box.
The Indians missed out on a game-tying goal with 2:30 left in the first half after a shot went just wide on the right side of the goal.
"I knew coming in they had a high-powered offense; we worked on some things defensively in practice," Fenner said. "They actually worked in our advantage.
"Defense wins championships and I tell you what, Alexa (Cosgro), Kerry (Cannon), Abi (Lawrence), Eva (Zalis), my four backs, played fabulous."
Bushey has scored all three of Seton Catholic's goals in the state tournament, but the talented eighth-grader won't be able to help the Knights in the semifinals or, if they win, in the championship game.
Bushey will be playing for the Nordic Soccer Club's 14 Premier Girls' team in the National Soccer Finals.
"It's very prestigious. It's just going to open the door for her," Fenner said. "I knew about this coming into this whole thing.
"Obviously, it will change the makeup of our offense a little, but hey, you can't overlook Rhea Breyette and, of course, (Lindsey's) sister Alexis, who are extremely offensive-minded."
The loss of such an offensive weapon is softened a bit by the way the Seton Catholic defense has been playing — two shutouts in as many state tournament games.
"I'm really big on shutouts, I'm not big on lopsided victories," Fenner said. "We struggled to keep that clean sheet all year. And here we are, when it counts, back-to-back shutouts. You've got to love that."
Dealing with losing Lindsey is something Fenner can worry about another day.
"You got to savor moment," he said.
—
Seton Catholic 1, Cambridge 0
Cambridge00—0
Seton Catholic10—1
First half- 1, SC, L. Bushey, 0:33.
Shots: Seton Catholic 7; Cambridge 3.
Saves: Olsen, SC, 3. Bromirski, C, 6.
E-mail Ryan Hayner at: rhayner@pressrepublican.com
