Crusaders girls’ soccer finishes second in AAA Division
Central Valley. The team finished strong after a semi-final victory.
| 14 Nov 2023 | 11:30
Crusaders celebrate their 1-0 state semi-final victory over Fairport. (
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Crusader Co-Captains (L-R) Natalie Harwood, Faith Zollo, and Reese Dolan hold the NY State Class AAA second place plaque. (
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Kate Allen (#15) scores a goal on this penalty kick to give the Crusaders the semi-final victory. (
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On a cold overcast weekend, the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders girls’ soccer team traveled to Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden to compete for the NYSPHSAA AAA Division Soccer crown. The Crusaders faced the Red Raiders of Fairport the Section 5 champions in the state semi-final on Saturday afternoon. The Red Raiders beat Lancaster 2-1 in the first round to advance to the semi-final and the Crusaders beat Arlington 1-0 last weekend to advance.
The game quickly developed into a very physical defensive struggle. With 26:57 left in the first half after a collision that sent both players to the ground, things got heated and players had to be separated and yellow cards were given to players on both teams. The Crusaders scored the only goal of the game when Kate Allen took a penalty kick after a hand ball and drilled a shot into the Fairport net. The Crusaders’ defense took over in the second half of the game and goalie Reese Dolan kept the Red Raiders off the board with one fantastic save after another.
The Crusaders 1-0 victory set up a rematch with the Patriots of Ward Melville who beat the Crusaders 1-0 last year in the semi-final round in overtime. The Patriots entered the game with a 15-0-3 record — the #1 ranked team in the state — and have only allowed five goals against this year. The Patriots got off to a fast start and took control early. At 23:29 in the first half, a pass got through the Crusader defense and the Patriot player beat the defender and the goalie to the ball; the score was 1-0. Five minutes later the Patriots scored again on a nice header that the defense couldn’t locate off a corner kick. Things got worse for the Crusaders with 4:30 left in the half. Crusader Goalie Dolan Reese was issued a yellow card when she charged out of the goal to make a save and sent a Patriot player flying. Crusader back-up goalie Madelyn McCleary was then forced into the game to face a penalty shot; and, without any time to warm up, was unable to stop the Patriots from going up 3-0. Finally, with under 30 seconds left in the half, the Patriots sealed their victory when they scored again and took a 4-0 half time lead. In the second half, the Crusaders’ defense kept the Patriots off the board but the offense was never able to get untracked. The Crusaders’ 4-0 loss in the state final marked the end of their 2023 season.
They finished #2 in the state in the AAA Division with a 14-3-2 record. Head Coach Bill Mpasiakos and Assistant Coach Elise Fugowski look to make another run at the state title next year with a strong group of returning players.