Girls soccer: Spencerport tops Somers in battle of unbeatens during Class AA state semis

DRYDEN - In a battle of unbeatens on New York high school girls soccer's biggest stage, the NYSPHSAA final four at Cortland, there's going to be little room for error − and no mercy, too.

Somers had a couple of last-minute adjustments to its starting 11, following injuries and sicknesses this week, a situation that didn't improve with another starter went down minutes into the match with a concussion. Somers didn't expect any sympathies, and the Rangers remained unrelenting in Saturday's NYSPHSAA Class AA semifinal contest.

Spencerport netted two late goals to secure its spot in Sunday's state championship game lineup, pulling away from the Tuskers for a 3-1 victory.

"We knew Spencerport was going to be a tough challenge coming in and they lived up to every bit of what we thought it was going to be," Somers coach Kelci Hegg said. "It was a fair match between two really good teams that definitely showed what both of us were undefeated. ... We fought through (the injuries). It was a different backline and Julia Schmidberger did a great job communicating with everybody and keeping everybody up."

The Rangers are no strangers to the final four, reaching that point every year since 2016. They quickly set the tone and drove Somers back onto their heels.

Spencerport maintained constant pressure on the attacking front and took a 1-0 halftime lead, with several near-misses and nice saves by Somers' Schmidberger to keep it a narrow margin.

The Tuskers, who had bulldozed their way through the opposition during a 22-match winning streak, was caught in an unfamiliar position, as the Rangers dominated the first half of play.

Somers rallied after the break with early second-half goal, as Lindsay Ulaj got the game-tying goal off a blocked shot, which gave the Tuskers a second wind.

"We had to put it all out there," Somers senior Annie Maguire said. "We were only down 1-0. If we put one on the board, and we'll knock at the other team's momentum and get them frazzled. That's what we did, but it didn't go our way. Spencerport was a really strong and big team."

The Tuskers settled down after a first half where they were hoping to survive and keep the game within reach. They started to build up some possessions, but a late goal with less than 12 minutes remaining by Lindsay Lenhard, and then the dagger shortly after by Emily Peacock, ultimately sealed the match.

"Spencerport is a very good team," Somers senior Jordan McMorrow said. "They move the ball fast, and their movement off the ball is fast. I gotta give a lot of credit to their center back, who really held it down back there, play after play and taking down every ball in the air. They were a really strong side, and I hope they go all the way."

While a disappointing result for the Tuskers, they hold their head high after reaching the state final four for the first time since 2014.

"What a ride it's been, right?" Hegg said. "We got so much better throughout the season, this is where we wanted to be. We wanted to play the best team, and we did. To have two undefeated teams in the semifinals is like a final itself, right? They rose to every occasion, fought hard, bought into the system and we got a great group of seniors we're going to miss, but they've led the path for the underclassmen. Hopefully, we'll be back here next year."

What it means

Spencerport is back in the state finals for the first time since 2019. The Rangers have made it to the final four every year since 2016, and have been undefeated against Section 1 teams during this stretch. When they last reached the state finals, they advanced past Pearl River in penalty kicks.

The Rangers will either play Section 11's Smithtown West or Section 2's Columbia in Sunday's title match, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

Game ball

Liana Tata, Spencerport: She assisted on two of three goals for the Rangers, as they advanced past the Tuskers.

Rangers' back line: Somers' scored its lone goal off a blocked shot rebound, but especially the Spencerport center backs were composed and adept at winning balls in the air and clearing out threats.

By the numbers

Spencerport (22-0): Lindsay Lenhard had the go-ahead goal, unassisted. Emily Peacock and Emma Watson also scored in the winning effort. Liana Tata had two assists. Cate Burns made three saves for the Rangers.

Somers (22-1): Lindsay Ulaj scored the Tuskers' lone goal. Julia Schmidberger had nine saves.

They said it

"It's been a great experience," McMorrow said. "The past four years, I've been wanting to get here. To finally get here, even though we didn't come out with the result we wanted to, it's still a great accomplishment. We won sections, regionals, and I don't think people thought we'd get this far, but it proves how hard we worked. At the end of the day, you have to be happy with what you accomplished. It's honestly a family and people always say that, and my older sister was on the team and she said it's a family but I'm like, 'yeah, yeah, that's corny.' Once you get there, everyone always has each other's back. For spending every day together for the past four months, I would get frustrated with any other group of people, but through all of it, they're honestly my best friends."

"I've learned a lot, and I think I've learned a lot more things that I wouldn't have in other scenarios," said Maguire of what the program has meant to her. "High school soccer is so much different from club. It's a family. You see each other every day, you practice every day. There's games every day. I've learned to be a leader, and going from my freshman year, not talking at all, to my senior year just trying to get everyone to be together. ... We have so many good younger players, there were two freshmen that went in and played today and they did an amazing job and they're only freshmen. I'm excited to come back and excited to see them play in the upcoming years."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud girls soccer: Spencerport tops Somers in Class AA state semifinals