After back-to-back exits in the state regionals, Cicero-North Syracuse girls soccer entered Saturday's matchup with Section I's North Rockland viewing it as a "hurdle" they needed to clear.
The Northstars flipped the script by delivering a heartbreaker of their own with a 1-0 victory over the Raiders.
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"I'm really happy that we actually won this year," C-NS freshman Sloane Raymond said. "Third time's the charm."
Raymond was a key factor on the Northstars' squad that lost on penalty kicks at the same stage last year. It's only fitting that Raymond netted the lone goal of the night to advance C-NS past its prior roadblock.
The score came right after halftime. The first 40 minutes went by with relatively little offense, but the Northstars came out of the gate with aggression in the second half. C-NS sophomore Evelyn Maglente's perfect pass set up Raymond to cash in the go-ahead goal.
"It's really our front three," C-NS coach Jeremy Lenchert said. "You've got Abby Mackey, you've got Evelyn Maglente and you've got Sloane Raymond. The three of them work well together to try to find a way to beat defenders."
With 37 minutes remaining on the clock after Raymond's goal, the Northstars still had to play impeccable defense to hold onto the win. After C-NS goalie Natalie LaPoint anchored the unit in the first half, sophomore Kara Dorrance captained a flawless second half and kept North Rockland at arm's length throughout.
"A lot of people will talk about our offense, but our defense is solid," Lenchert said. "The girls played well in the back tonight."
The win advanced C-NS to the state semifinals for the first time since 2013. It wasn't an easy road to get there — North Rockland (16-5) was ranked 11th among New York Class AAA squads, while subregional opponent Saratoga Springs was ranked ninth.
C-NS (19-1) advances to take on Oceanside of Section VIII on Friday at Dryden High School. The winner will move on to the Class AAA state championship game the following Saturday.
The Northstars are not looking past the Sailors, but Lenchert said the team's goal was established months ago.
"We said at the beginning of the year that we wanted to win states," Lenchert said. "We said that through league play and we said that when sectionals started. We want two more."
