The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Blue Devils blast Warriors
Strong start sparks third straight section crown for Camden
Strong start spells 3rd straight section title for Camden.
In a Section III Class C semifinal victory over No. 4 Cazenovia, No. 1 Camden got off to a slow start by Blue Devil standards.
Shannon McPheron’s side could not find the back of the cage against the Lakers in the opening 30 minutes but was able to find continuity on offense to the tune of three second half scores in a 3-0 victory.
Three days later, in the Class C championship game against
No. 2 seed Clinton, the TriValley Champion Blue Devils flipped the script.
Emily Walker, Mackenzie Mix, and Jayden Scott all tallied first half goals to help Camden roar to a 3-0 advantage at the half. Paige Halbritter added a second half score for the No. 1 seed for some insurance, and Camden retook its place at the top of the Class C heap with a third straight section championship in a 4-0 victory.
“Whoever scored first would take the energy,” McPheron said. “We definitely did that... We knew we had to score first.
We knew we had to be quick.”
“It was very beneficial,” Mix added of starting fast. “We made a lot of people nervous in that first half of the [Cazenovia] game, but we came pumped up ready to win and did what we had to do.”
Already sporting a 1-0 advantage with 18:05 on the clock in the first half, the Blue Devils doubled their lead when midfielder Greta Kwiatkowski redirected a penalty corner entry pass to Mix for the shot and score.
Later in the first, Jayden
Scott entered the scoring column on a penalty corner, slapping a Mix pass to the back of the Clinton cage for a 3-0 lead at the 7:38 mark in the first half.
Clinton had one of its best scoring opportunities off the ensuing passback. Clinton attacker Gianna Trunfio wove down the heart of the Camden defense but was dispossessed by Camden sophomore Jaiden Prievo, and the two sides hit the intermission with the Blue Devils up 3-0.
Camden continued to dominate possession throughout the second half, holding upset-minded Clinton at bay. For the Blue Devils though, taking every team’s best knockout attempt is something the No. 1 seed prides itself on.
“We have so much pressure on our backs to know that everyone wants to upset us. We always put it aside and work together,” Mix said.
Camden’s final score of the evening came late in the second half with less than six minutes left on the clock off yet another penalty corner. Clinton contained the entry pass well, deflecting a second pass attempt, but off of the scramble, Walker got her stick on the ball and sent a pass to Halbritter for the score and a 4-0 Camden lead.
“Penalty corners is something we have struggled with all season long. We have had so many of them that we have not been able to execute,” McPheron said. “Today, we scored the most on our penalty corners. We have been focusing a lot on our corners. We definitely made some adjustments, and those definitely helped.”
The win sets Camden up for a pre-regional meeting with Class D champion Port Byron-Union Springs.
The winner of that contest will move on to the state regionals.
“My girls worked very hard in the off season. A lot of them do off-season work whether it be club [play] or whatever else. Obviously, we did lose some key players to graduation last year, but my returning players who have played for me knew they had to step it up this season. And they have done a great job doing that, and the new players on my team have also stepped up into a good comfortable role,” McPheron said when asked what the third straight section championship meant to the program.
“This was our big goal and now we definitely have to refocus because Port Byron is not going to be an easy game.”