The Schuylerville field hockey team embodies every cliche about playoffs being a new season.
Ask the Black Horses, and they'll tell you they're 2-0. When they get announced Wednesday night as having a record of 7-11, there might even be a joke made about 7-11 being a convenience store.
Having sprung two upsets in the playoffs already, the fifth-seeded Black Horses take on league rival and second-seeded Hoosick Falls in the Class CC final of the Section II Field Hockey Tournament. Game time is 7 p.m. at Johnstown's Knox Field.
The Class C final between No. 1 Johnsburg (14-2) and No. 2 Greenwich (17-1) precedes it at 5 p.m.
Schuylerville coach Erin Lloyd said the postseason secret is little more than her players finally finding a sense of urgency.
"Really, it's all of the girls showing up on the same day ready to play," Lloyd said. "We've had the talent all year. The past two games, they were finally, like, 'We are really good. Why aren't we doing better?' "
Schuylerville began its run with a 2-0 quarterfinal win over league foe Granville and then followed that with a 1-0 upset of top-seeded Taconic Hills in the semifinals.
Offensively, Heather Quirk has four goals and four assists for Schuylerville, while Alex Gaertner has three goals.
Defensively, junior Aissa Murray began the season never having played goalkeeper. Now, she is one of the reasons the Black Horses are trying to win their first sectional title since 1997.
"She is probably one of the most determined players I've ever coached. She wants to make the position her own," Lloyd said.
Hoosick Falls (15-2) is trying for its fifth title in the last six years. The Panthers are led by Samantha Skott, who has a team-high 43 points on 19 goals and five assists, and goaltender Frankie Pearson, who leads a defense that has posted 11 shutouts.
Hoosick Falls swept the regular-season meetings, 3-1 on Sept. 25 and 2-0 on Oct. 14.
"Yeah, they've beaten us two times, but they haven't beaten the team we've been the last two games," Lloyd said.
In the Class C final, it's a battle between Adirondack League champion Johnsburg and Wasaren League co-champion Greenwich. Both squads have offensive firepower, but the Witches have kicked it up a notch in their two playoff games, generating 38 shots and 33 penalty corners in topping Salem 2-0 and Germantown 4-1.
Johnsburg mostly had things its way in defeating rival Warrensburg 2-0 in the semifinals.
"I think both teams have some pretty fast players," Greenwich coach Dawn Slater said. "As a spectator, I would think it would be a pretty nice game to watch."
Greenwich's Dani DeGregory leads the area in scoring with 17 goals and 13 assists (47 points). The Witches have two other players with at least six goals: Jasmine Woodard (nine goals, eight assists) and Kate Andrews (six goals, seven assists).
Johnsburg is led by Kelly Blackhurst's 16 goals and seven assists, while Emily Burns (11 goals, four assists), Kelsey Williford (seven goals, seven assists) and Keri Cleveland (six goals, five assists) also contribute.
Defensively, Greenwich goalie Meg Dusha and Johnsburg goalie Cassandra Prouty rank 1-2 in the area in shutouts, with 12 and 9 1/2, respectively.
During the regular season, Greenwich won a non-league game between the two, 2-0, on the artificial turf at Adirondack Sports Complex on Sept. 28.
The schools have knocked on the door lately, but neither has been able to break through. Johnsburg, which has never won a sectional field hockey title, lost in the Class C final two years ago. Greenwich, which last won a title in 1993, reached the finals each year from 2005-2007.
Posted in Sports, Field_hockey on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:20 am | Tags: Field Hockey, Sectionals
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