The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Camden looking to break through regionals
Class C champ Camden blanks Port Byron to secure 3rd straight regional bid
VERONA, N.Y. >> Throughout the Section III Class C playoffs, Camden head coach Shannon McPheron has stressed the importance of fast starts to her team.
When the Blue Devils get off to a fast start on offense, good things happen.
That trend continued on Sunday in Verona where Camden scored in the opening 10 minutes to take control of a Section III Class C/D playoff game en route to a 5-0 blanking of Port Byron to secure a spot in the New York State regionals.
Juniors Chloe Hite and Emily
Walker powered the Blue Devil attack, notching two goals a piece. Fellow junior Mackenzie Mix helped direct the Camden attack, notching a goal and a trio of assists.
Through its first three postseason contests, including a Section III Class C final victory and Sunday’s Class C/D regional qualifier game, Camden has outscored opponents by a total of 12-0.
“We are a very offensiveminded team. Our formation is set up to score goals,” McPheron said. “We were able to put five goals on the board, and I think that says a lot about our team as a whole and our sense to score goals.”
Less than nine minutes into first, Camden struck. Mix received the ball near midfield and turned that into a long carry up the middle of the defense for a shot. The ball deflected off a Port Byron defender and Walker capitalized with a goal at the 21:20 mark.
“It’s really important to get the momentum going soon. The quicker we can get a goal off, the quicker we can continue to score them. I think it really boosts our intensity when we score early on in the game,” Walker said.
That intensity was evident throughout the contest. Camden kept the pressure on with a pair of penalty corners midway through the first. Senior Jaiden Scott slid a pass to sophomore Greta Kwiakowski, who in turn found Mix at the top of the circle. With the defense closing quickly, Mix snuck a pass back to Scott for a shot that skipped dangerously across mouth of the goal, but Port Byron was able to clear. Moments later, with 10:53 left in the first, Camden again had a chance to double its lead off a penalty corner. This time, senior Delainey Hebble received the entry pass and fed Kwiakowski for a shot on cage that just missed the left post.
Port Byron recovered from the two close calls to work the ball deep into Camden territory. Twice the Panthers had the possession at the top of the shooting circle, but Hebble and sophomore Jaiden Prievo each came up with huge tackles for the Blue Devils to thwart the Panther forays.
With time winding down in the first, Camden added a security score. Mix went on a run up the the middle of the Port Byron defense, drawing a penalty corner with 1:21 left in the first half. Off the set piece, Kwiakowski fed Mix for backhand score and a 2-0 Blue Devil advantage heading into the intermission.
Out of the intermission, with Camden pressing off a penalty corner, Panther goalie Maria Burns denied an open Mix to keep her side within a goal.
Burns came up with a huge save on the Blue Devils’ next penalty corner, but Camden wouldn’t be denied. With the ball loose in a chaotic mosh pit in front of the Panther cage, Hite was a pest, poking and fighting her way to a third Blue Devil goal and 3-0 lead at the 26:20.
Mix wove through traffic at the 24:30 showing off her stick skills but Burns came up huge again, splaying out to stop the Camden standout.
Camden tacked on two more goals in the later stages of the second half. Hite picked up her second goal by staying home to sneak a shot in far post. Then, with less than 20 seconds left in the contest, the Blue Devils closed the same way they started, taking a 5- 0 lead on a Walker goal to cap off the victory and send the Blue Devils to their third consecutive regional appearance.
“It’s definitely a big deal,” Walker said of the team’s three-peat. “Greatness has been expected of us for a long time. It’s a lot of pressure, but it makes us better to have high expectations and have to work hard for them.”
Despite significant roster turnover from a season ago, Camden’s veteran coach likes the development of her youthful side.
“We have a lot of younger players, so maybe not as experienced as the others were last year. They are definitely rising to the occasion,” McPheron said. “They know the strength of our program. They know what we have to do to be successful, and it’s finally coming together when it needs to.”
With the victory, Camden advances to a Wednesday, Nov. 6 showdown with Section II representative Johnstown. That game will take place at Gloversville High School at 6 p.m.
“Don’t let the past get into our heads,” Mix said of what the Blue Devils need to do to change their regional fortunes. “We just want to get as far as we can but also just keep working hard like we have been.”