Kingston, Rondout beaten in regionals
Mamaroneck edges Tigers 1-0 in Class A semifinal
Kingston High’s quest for a state field hockey berth ended Tuesday with a tough 1-0 loss to Mamaroneck in a Class A regional semifinal game at Dietz Stadium.
Mamaroneck, now 16-2-1, plays Saratoga in a regional final noon Saturday at Lakeland.
Kingston, which finished with a 13-4 record, spent much of the contest fending off Mamaroneck’s offense. The Section 1 champions outshot the Tigers 18-4 and had 15-0 edge in penalty corners.
“We were caught on our heels a little bit at the end of the first half and a bit in the middle of the second half,” Kingston coach Erin Koonz said. “The defense was incredible. They hung in there really well. You can’t ask for a better effort. I’m very proud of them.”
The tone was set in the opening minute as Mamaroneck quickly got the ball downfield and Kingston’s freshman goalkeeper Kara Houston made a kick save on Brigid Knowles’ shot.
Mamaroneck finally broke through on a corner with 11:25 left in the first half. Knowles sailed a backhander from the top of the circle and Elizabeth Brissette tapped it home.
Houston kept Mamaroneck at bay with a terrific performance, stopping 10 shots overall and seven in the first half. The bulk of the saves came during one siege late in that half as Mamaroneck peppered the Tiger cage. She blocked consecutive shots with first her right, then left leg pads.
“It was the hardest game we’ve played in this season. There were
a lot more shots than I’m used to,” said Houston, who had been called up from the junior varsity early in the season.
Junior Larkin Uhl and seniors Juliana Sickler and Gannon Riley anchored the Tiger defense, which did an excellent job.
The Tigers had played Mamaroneck tough during
the regular season, also losing 1-0 in a non-league game.
Kingston had its best offensive possession five minutes into the second half, but still couldn’t get the ball within five feet of the goal.
“We were joking. When we got into the circle, it was like we had an electric fence. In our own attacking circle,” Koonz remarked. “It’s like we would get too close to it and then turn it over. It’s like we just
hit this thing and it pushed us straight back.
“We didn’t have any corners. We couldn’t really generate a lot of attack. We got caught carrying off to the left which is very hard to attack off of that side. I wish we could have gone towards the right a little or down the strong side, but their defense was good, too. They forced us where they wanted us to go and it’s hard to go around that.”
Kingston repeated this
season as Mid-Hudson Athletic League champion and won the Section 9 title for a 12th consecutive year. The starting lineup featured four juniors, a sophomore, three freshmen and only three seniors.
“They impressed me the whole season and especially in this game,” Koonz said.
“It was good experience for next year,” Houston noted, “to get us prepared to go against teams like this.”