VSS works overtime for state crown

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Valley Stream South worked overtime for a second straight day to complete a dream season and make school history.

Junior Kayla Camacho headed in a corner kick from junior Bryana Pizarro with 27 seconds remaining in the first of two mandatory 10-minute OTs and the Lady Falcons held on for a 1-0 victory over Jamesville-Dewitt in the state Class A girls’ soccer championship game on Sunday afternoon at Cortland High School.

The goal capped a perfect 21-0 campaign and gave South the first state title in school history — it opened in 1955 — in any team sport. It’s something the Lady Falcons had on their minds since last June.

“The girls always believed this was something they could achieve, but they never looked beyond the next game,” coach Demetri Adrahtas said. “It really was an incredible ride.”

The Lady Falcons received a hero’s welcome back to town Sunday night with their bus getting a police and fire truck escort for the last few miles of the roughly five-hour trip. They were greeted by hundreds in the school parking lot. “I feel like it’s still a dream right now,” Camacho said. “We wanted to make everyone in the community proud. We really did something amazing.”

The teams were a combined 42-0 heading into Sunday’s final. South’s defense, comprised of senior Lindsey Smith, sophomore Hailey Roberts, junior Allyson Camacho and freshman Nia Anjou, with senior middie Yasmin Voytelmgum chipping in, limited Jamesville-Dewitt’s opportunities throughout the 100 minutes of action. Lady Falcons senior goalkeeper Natalie Peralta made two saves for her 16th shutout.

“The back line has been outstanding throughout the playoffs,” Adrahtas said. “We finished the last 10 minutes strong, even playing a little bit more of a defensive style. We didn’t allow them any real threats.”

Pizarro, who scored less than a minute into the second half of last Saturday’s come-from-behind 3-2 double OT win over Vestal in the semifinals at Tompkins Cortland Community College, said she had a feeling something special was about to happen off the eventual state-winning corner.

“We’ve had a lot of success on corners all year with Mia [Asenjo] being so dominant in the air and Kayla’s ability to finish,” Pizarro said. “When I placed the ball down, I said ‘This is it, we’re doing this.’ “I just had a gut feeling it was going to be the one.”

Camacho’s header from about 10 yards out deflected off the calf of a defender and bounced into the net. However, South still had another 10-plus minutes to go. “We knew we couldn’t stop working,” Camacho said.

Smith, a five-year varsity performer, provided the overtime heroics against Vestal from 30 yards out with a little more than seven minutes left in the second OT. “We were just looking to get shots on goal because their keeper was giving up rebounds,” Pizarro said. “I yelled to Lindsey to take the shot and it found a way in.”

The Lady Falcons trailed in the semifinal twice and were down 2-1 with 23:43 remaining. Camacho netted the equalizer off a feed from Asenjo, a sophomore who enjoyed a tremendous playoff run with the game-winning goals in the Nassau and Long Island championship games.

“It was just a lot of heart,” Adrahtas said of battling back twice against Vestal. “Fighting back and trying to defy odds was nothing for this group.”