JOHNSTOWN - Having not played in nearly two weeks, the Johnstown field hockey team returned to action Tuesday in the Section II Class B semifinals at Knox Field.
The top-seeded Lady Bills not only had to shake off rust, but the sight of a teammate being taken away in an ambulance prior to their game with Scotia-Glenville.
They managed to do both, posting a 3-1 win over the fifth-seeded Tartans.
With the win, Johnstown (15-1) advanced to Friday's Class B championship game where it will face Glens Falls for the second straight year. Glens Falls (13-4) won last year's title game 1-0 and earned a return trip with a 3-2 win over No. 3 seed Ichabod Crane on Wednesday.
"We wanted to get back to the championship game," Johnstown coach Tracy Ringer said. "Getting there is never easy though."
It certainly wasn't Tuesday.
Before the game even began, Johnstown had to overcome the loss of Lindsay Lizio, who was taken to the hospital by ambulance after suffering a medical problem before the game.
"It was tough to start the day like that," Ringer said. "All of the girls were worried about their teammate."
Despite the nearly 30-minute delay at the start of the game, Johnstown was ready to go at the opening whistle.
"We came down quickly and score right off the bat," Ringer said.
The Lady Bills scored on their first shot of the game when Kendra Cooper scored on an assist from Abigail Heroth following a penalty corner just 1:11 into the game.
"They're [Johnstown] notorious for scoring in a minute on us," Scotia-Glenville coach Sue Davenport said. "They did it to us earlier this year as well."
Johnstown continued to control the action through the majority of the first half, outshooting Scotia-Glenville by a 9-3 margin and holding an 8-1 edge in corners.
"We started off real fast and dominated the first half," Ringer said. "We just had trouble finishing on our chances."
Part of the Lady Bills' offensive struggles stemmed from the fact that they hadn't played game since posting a 5-0 win at Bethlehem on Oct. 21.
"Having no games for almost two weeks was hard," Ringer said. "It was hard to get going today. It was a weird day all the way around."
By contrast, Scotia-Glenville already had a sectional win under its belt, a 2-1 decision over No. 4 South Glens Falls in a game that was decided by penalty strokes.
It was the first quarterfinal win for Davenport in her eight-year tenure as coach of the Tartans.
"It was the first time since I took over that we've made it this far," Davenport said. "Usually, I'm working at the sectional games at this point, so it was nice to be on the sidelines this year."
Scotia-Glenville had lost both regular-season meetings to Johnstown, losing 4-1 at home Sept. 10 and 1-0 at Knox Field on Oct. 1.
"I knew we going to give them a game," Davenport said. "We played them close last time here, so I knew it would be a battle."
After the quick early goal, Scotia-Glenville withstood the persistent Johnstown attack for the remainder of the first half
Scotia-Glenville goalie Arika Adams made three or her nine saves in the first half to keep the score 1-0 at the half.
The Tartans got out the gates quickly in the second half, generating three corners in the first three minutes.
The early second-half pressure paid off with 24:16 left in the game when Erin Connolly scored on an assist from Cathy Kennedy.
"At halftime, I think we had a chance to think about what happened," Ringer said. "It took us out of our game."
Johnstown regrouped to generate a pair of scoring chances by Cooper following corners that were both turned aside by Adams.
"Once we got into our game, we were OK," Ringer said.
Scotia-Glenville ran into further trouble when Deanna Moran and Susan Caccavale were both issued yellow cards with less than eight minutes to play.
"Those yellow cards were killers," Davenport said.
Caccavale's card came with 7:48 to play, while Moran was carded with 3:54 to play. As a result, both had to head to the sideline to serve a five-minute penalty, leaving Johnstown with a two-player advantage following Moran's card.
Johnstown took advantage with 2:04 to play when Kayla Satterlee scored the game-winning goal on an assist from Cooper.
"We took advantage of the opportunity when they got their yellow cards," Ringer said. "You have to capitalize when you have an advantage like that."
The win was the 11th straight for the Lady Bills, who have lost since dropping a 2-0 decision at Glens Falls on Sept. 15.
Johnstown goalie Courtney Ponte finished with five saves to earn the win.
Scotia-Glenville ends its season with a 6-10 overall record.
"It wasn't the result we were looking for. We have 15 seniors, so it's pretty heartbreaking," Davenport said.
