Find out the Times Union’s male and female athlete of the month for October.
Junior scored 13 of soccer team’s 23 goals in October
From scoring three times in the season opener to tallying the final goal of the month in overtime, Maple Hill junior girls’ soccer star Alayna Fletcher found a variety of ways to make an impact for Maple Hill.
Fletcher’s 13th goal of October propelled Maple Hill past Chatham 2-1 in the Patroon Conference, setting the stage for an eventual championship for the third-seeded Wildcats.
The junior held the Section II scoring lead at the time when her season ended with a 1-0 triumph over top-seeded Greenville on Nov. 2 — a makeup date after the original Oct. 29 final was postponed.
For her efforts, Fletcher has been selected as the Times Union’s Female Athlete of the Month for October.
“I will look back on this season with no regrets. I played every minute as best I could and we played every minute as a team great too,” Fletcher said.
The coronavirus pandemic limited Section II soccer play this fall to just two leagues: the Patroon Conference and the Suburban Council. The Patroon Conference played only seven games during the regular season and Fletcher scored 12 times to help Maple Hill finish 5-2. During a 3-2 win against Cairo-durham, Fletcher rallied Maple Hill from a 2-0 deficit with a trio of goals for her second hat trick of the season.
“They were off a header, one way out in the corner and a sliding goal she put in off the ground,” Maple Hill girls’ soccer coach Sheila Golden said. “Her goals were meaningful. ... This year, she really went from being a good to great player for us. She set goals for herself and pretty much accomplished them.”
Maple Hill and Greenville battled to a scoreless tie through regulation play Oct. 24 before the Spartans scored two goals in overtime to prevail 2-0.
In the semifinals against Chatham at Taconic Hills, Fletcher notched her 13th goal of the month 3:59 into overtime as the Wildcats beat the Panthers 2-1.
“We were riding a high going in against Greenville because we beat Chatham,” Fletcher said. “It definitely helped us going into the final.”
In eight games during October, Fletcher registered 13 of the Wildcats’ 23 goals.
“I could not have asked for a better season or a way to end the year,” Fletcher said.