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By JOHN CORYER
DRYDEN — You have to give the Seton Catholic girls' soccer team a lot of credit.
The shorthanded Section VII champions put up a valiant fight Friday in a 1-0 overtime loss to Stony Brook of Section XI (Long Island) in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) girls' Class C semifinals at Tompkins-Cortland Community College.
Stony Brook, playing in its first-ever state title contest, takes on Sauquoit Valley today.
Kelsey Wentling's goal with just three minutes left in the second overtime gave the Bears (12-5-1) the victory.
"We gave them a run for their money," said Seton Catholic Coach Jason Fenner. "It was a physical game and I'm so proud of the girls.
"We changed our formation for the game with a couple of players missing. They have two phenomenal midfielders and we wanted a lot of peole behind the ball."
Michelle Hennessey assisted on the game-winner.
"We had a corner kick and they cleared it," recalled Fenner. "They broke out and had a semi breakaway. Alexa Cosgro, who played a tremendous game for us, slid in to block the shot, but it floated into the far side of the net."
The Knights (14-5-1) went to more of a defense-minded style of play, relying on Alexis Bushey, Rhea Breyette and Kaile Bushey to muster the offense.
"Everybody, especially the seniors, played hard," Fenner said. "They had a high-powered offense and I think we got a little tired at the end.
"We moved Eliza Zalis back to stopper and she must have had 50 head balls. Shannon Olsen was fantastic in goal. She had one save on a ball that was headed into the upper 90, but she got a mitt on it."
Seton Catholic was missing its leading scorer, eighth-grader Lindsey Bushey (24-11-50), who is attending an Olympic Development camp in Florida this week. Bushey had all three Seton scores in their previous postseason contests this fall.
The Knights had their scoring chances limited and had problems staying onside at times.
"We just weren't able to get many chances, outside of a couple that Alexis had," Fenner said.
"We did, however, concentrate on not letting them score and it took until three minutes were left in the second overtime for them to do so.
"They had the momentum in the first overtime, but we held in there. Certainly, I can't fault our effort."
It marked the second straight tough 1-0 setback for Seton Catholic in the state semifinals. The Knights lost to Marathon, 1-0, last year.
"We had a great season," Fenner said.
