By PAUL GOTHAM
BROCKPORT, N.Y. — Emma Watson scored twice, and top-seeded Spencerport defeated No. 4 Pittsford Mendon, 3-0 in Section V Class AA Girls’ Soccer action, Wednesday night at Brockport High School.
Watson gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead heading into halftime before igniting a two-goal flurry early in the second stanza for a commanding lead.
“It feels really good,” she said. “I had great assists from my team.”
Watson intercepted a clearing and found teammate Emily Peacock along the left flank. Peacock kept the play going with a pass to Lindsay Lenhard who one-timed a ball back to Watson. The senior midfielder needed one touch to settle it before tucking a right-footed blast under the crossbar for her 13th goal of the season and a 2-0 advantage with 33:52 remaining in the contest.
“We know that sectionals are so intense,” she said. “It’s anyone’s game. One-zero is not strong enough, and we always want to aim for as many goals as we can. We definitely wanted to pound them more. One-zero was just the start.”
47’ Emma Watson starts the play with a takeaway at midfield and finishes it with her second goal of the night. Less than a minute later, Emily Peacock takes advantage of a giveaway to make 3-nil @Rangers_GSOC Class AA Girls semis. pic.twitter.com/ho1CEvEMCR
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 25, 2023
Less than 40 seconds later, Peacock took advantage of a giveaway and connected on her 11th tally of the season.
Watson started the scoring in the game with an assist from Aleena Solano.
“We wanted to pound them early, so I was glad that I got that one there,” Watson said. “We just kept attacking the back post. We had great crosses. Aleena had some great crosses during this game. That really helps.”
Spencerport’s backline of Kendall Mesh, Liana Tata and Anastasia Barczys along with the midfield work of Jamie Keens and Isabella Fiorillo limited Mendon to one shot on goal in the match.
Cate Burns secured her 17th shutout of the season.
“We try not to take anything for granted,” Burns said. “It doesn’t matter how many shutouts we’ve already had, we just want that next one.”
With the win, Spencerport advances to the AA finals. The Rangers have won seven straight Class A titles.
“It’s just our intensity and our mindset,” Burns said. “Our theme for the year for our whole school is ‘Locked In.’ Stay locked in. I’ve been trying to staying locked-in every single second, not just of every game but every practice to make sure that we don’t let in goals. That’s my motto.”
Spenceport had a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal.
The Rangers will face No. 2 Webster Schroeder in the finals. The two teams met twice during the season with Spencerport winning by counts of 4-0 and 2-0.
Schroeder won the 2022 Class AA title.
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