Final curtain

Sullivan West loses sectional berth with tie against Liberty; seniors give all in final effort

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LIBERTY, NY — Life is replete with defining milestones, many of which signal an end to something cherished. For the Sullivan West and Liberty girls soccer teams, such a coda came as their season drew to an emotional close on October 24. Their final game, a 1-1 tie after two five-minute overtimes, failed to produce a winner.

That finality was brought home twofold.

First, Sullivan West was divested of garnering a sectional berth, as it needed a win to bring its league record to 4-4. The tie left the Bulldogs 3-4-1 and on the outside of the postseason looking in.

For Liberty, which ended up with a 2-5-1-league record, sectionals were not in the offing, but pride was at stake. The word pride is one of the bywords marking Liberty High School’s revitalized spirit.

The compelling drama played out on Liberty’s field. Mother Nature set the stage by providing sultry half-light, swirling winds, dropping temperatures and the season’s first snowflakes. Despite the cold, there was warmth in Liberty Athletic Director Jason Semo’s touching prologue. He honored the team’s seniors by noting that they had represented their school “with pride and class.” Semo reminded the girls, many of whose eyes brimmed with tears at the prospect of playing their last varsity soccer game that, “Now you can add another chapter in your life to your senior year.” Semo called up seniors Michelle Fancher, Brittany Melchick, Amarynth Sichel, Miranda Hardy, Georgia Siegel, Maggie Sauchuck, Krysta Erlwein, Stephanie Castellano, Brittany Argent and Meghin Shortall to be honored. The girls gave flowers to their parents and posed for photos to freeze the fleeting moment in a visual memento.

Across the field, emotions were also running high for seniors Donna Kelly, Jessica Armstrong, Jessica Corbett, Lauren Ellison, Tara Brewer, Patti Knack, Laura Stabbert and Stevie VanWagenen, who desperately wanted to continue into sectionals.

Mother Nature signaled the opening of Act I with a driving snow shower and later provided a metaphor of the season’s transition with a huge flock of migrating birds.

The game got underway with Liberty’s Jasmine Walizadeh firing off the game’s first shot. It went wide. A trip by a Liberty player led to a Sullivan West indirect kick. An ensuing flurry in front of Liberty keeper Kelly Lockwood led to a shot by Melanie Kleiner and a pair by Kelly, but nothing got through.

When Shortall was tripped, Liberty was afforded a direct kick 10 minutes in. Fancher blasted a shot that Bulldog keeper Kristen Niemann caught, but the momentum carried her back inside the cage giving Liberty a 1-0 lead.

Revved up by a large home crowd, Liberty amped up its intensity. A crossing ball from Walizadeh to Fancher nearly made it two-zip, but Niemann held on for the save. Sullivan West worked the ball well. A nice pass from Katrina Graby found Kleiner but a Sullivan West push reversed the ball back to the Lady Indians.

Fancher had another direct kick, but her shot bounced off the top of the goal. Liberty kept the pressure on for the last 10 minutes of the first half by holding the ball in. A late Sullivan West rush was ruled offsides, and a shot by Kleiner had zip on it but sailed wide right.

A collision between Walizadeh and Niemann, who had come out of the box, had fans calling foul from different viewpoints. The ball went to Sullivan West. The half ended with Liberty leading 1-0.

Act II began with Sullivan West breaking out. A great clear by Fancher stopped the advance. Lockwood held on to a shot by Corbett and went down in a heap. Corbett and Kleiner kept the pressure up but, as has been the case all season, the Bulldogs seemed to be unable to finish.

Walizadeh tirelessly looked for the breakout. Her speed and deft dribbling enhanced by her year-round play with Liberty United allowed her to win balls and get around defenders, but she too couldn’t finish her shots.

Kleiner had a wide-open look, but shot wide. As the clock continued to run down, a sense of desperation began for the Dawgs. Liberty worked hard to hold on for the emotional win and nearly had it in the bag when Kelly picked up a ball from Kleiner and drilled it into the back of the net at 39:20 for the 1-1 tie.

Given the waning light, officials decided on a pair of five-minute overtimes to provide the game’s epilogue. Neither period produced a winner.

As Liberty players ran around the field’s perimeter to mark their final home game and a victory of sorts, Sullivan West’s players stood huddled and teary-eyed. Coach Mike Ellmauer was visibly shaken.

“This is a great group of kids,” he whispered. “They worked well together although we got started late. In the end, it was too little, too late,” he noted, referring to the game-tying goal.

Liberty coach Ashley Prouty was disappointed as well. “It hurts when the other team scores with 30 seconds to go,” she said, but quickly added, “My team left their blood, sweat and guts on the field today.”

Sullivan West finished its season at 4-13-1 (3-4-1 OCIAA), while Liberty’s final mark was 5-12-1 (2-5-1 OCIAA), following the team’s final 4-1 loss to Tri-Valley on October 26.

Lockwood recorded six saves for Liberty, while Niemann stopped eight shots for Sullivan West. The Lady Bulldogs won the previous league encounter 1-0 on a penalty kick. Visit riverreportersports.com for additional photos.