Girls soccer: Irvington's historic season continues to the Class B state final
CORTLAND - Fact: Section I's Class B teams earned the last two state titles in Class B girls soccer. Saturday afternoon, Irvington took a big step toward making it three straight.
Coach Pat DiBenedetto's team stunned Seaford with two goals in the first six minutes of play and added a third before the first half's midpoint. The Bulldogs (18-4-1) went on to win their New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B game at Cortland High School 5-1.
"We talked about coming up here and starting fast and getting the first goal and setting the tone," said DiBenedetto. "The girls did it. It was faster than I expected."
Saturday's game figured to be a close one as the Section I champions were facing a Vikings team that had not lost in 2022. But Claire Friedlander's corner kick went directly to Allie Cloutman after just 83 seconds elapsed and the sophomore made a perfect one-touch shot for a 1-0 Bulldogs lead.
Section I's champions almost made it 2-0 less than a minute later as Kaitlyn Krieger had a breakaway stopped by Vikings goalie Joanna Bello.
The Bulldogs kept the pressure on seconds later and Kriger scored on a breakaway after a great pass from Claire Friedlander. The Section I champs, up 2-0 in the sixth minute, could have relaxed but they did not.
Keira Nyarady had a corner kick that went through the middle of the box untouched in the 13th minute.
Addie Dring and Cloutman had good shots minutes later that Bellow stopped and the pressure on Seaford kept mounting. It paid off seconds later as Nyarady scored off a superb cross from Niki Denardo in the 17h minute.
Coach Kenneth Botti's Vikings could have given up at that point but did not. The Section VIII champions had good scoring chances by Meghan Stovall and Ally Cullingford then in the 24h minute Kaylie Conklin was just wide with a one-on-one, albeit from a tough angle. Arianna Garcia forced Bulldogs goalie Sadie Van Der Spuy to make a great save.
The second half started similarly as Irvington increased its lead with a goal in less than five minutes. Sofia Rosenblatt had a superb pass to Krieger and the senior kicked it past a helpless Bello.
But the Vikings answered with a great goal by Cullingford less than two minutes later. The freshman stole the ball in the Irvington defensive end and made a 20-yard shot. Stovall had a good chance moments later for Seaford (14-1-1) and Cullingford had a direct kick from just outside the box kicked wide by Van Der Spuy.
Kyli Parsons' goalie in the 58th minute ended Seaford's last hope for a miracle rally. Friedlander's corner kick set up the senior's goal.
Van Der Spuy finished with three saves while Bellow made six.
"I'm so proud of the girls," said DiBenedetto after his team reached the state title game for the first time in program history. "They prepared for this. They were so pumped up."
Irvington (18-4-1): Saves - Sadie Van Der Spuy 3.
Seaford (14-1-1): Saves - Joanna Bello 6.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Irvington girls soccer beats Seaford in NYSPHSAA Class B semis
