Even with the pressure of being ranked first in New York State in Class AA girls soccer going into the postseason, Spencerport came through, defeating Niagara-Wheatfield 10-0 in the state quarterfinals, second-ranked Somers 3-1 in the semi-final, and Smithtown West 2-0 to win the state championship for the third time in school history and finish the season 23-0.
Their previous state titles came in 2016 and 2017.
“It’s surreal and truly an outstanding moment,” Spencerport senior goalkeeper Cate Burns said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; the last couple of years we kind of fell short and this year we got it done. Every person on this team is a testament to the grit that we have, and we persevered, got those two goals…and that moment is everything to me and everything we’ve worked towards.”
In the title game, the Rangers took a 1-0 lead with a little over one minute remaining in the first half as sophomore Emily Peacock headed in an indirect cross by junior Lindsay Lenhard.
They made it 2-0 in the 56th minute. This time it was senior Kayla Baca with the cross that was headed in by senior Emma Watson.
“I just got a head on it, and it felt really good,” Watson said. “I didn’t think it was going to go in to be honest, but we were all ready to just crash the box. We have great outside wingers and they’re always ready to cross it in.”
“This team has performed so well from the start,” Spencerport head coach Jamie Schneider said. “This is a really special group of athletes and kids. They are really good soccer players and athletes, but their leadership was terrific. They were all invested in putting it all together.
“I’m so happy for them because they’ve wanted it for a few years now. The two years losing in a shootout was definitely difficult for them, so for them it has to feel great; they definitely deserve it.”
The shutout in the final came against a team that had scored five goals over their previous two state playoff contests and comes after the team set a new Section V record for shutouts in one season.
“It really just starts with all the players on our team,” Burns said. “Kendall Mesh, Anastasia Barczys, Liana Tata, those three that we have back there are such solid players and I give so much credit to them,” Burns said. “They kept things locked down for me.
“Getting those two goals; the second one really solidified it for me because I knew there was no way I was letting our team down by letting in two goals. It was a great year for us, and the state championship shows that.
“Kind of a crazy moment for me; this was my last time playing with this team and now we get to enjoy the goal of winning a state championship.”
