Article Photos

Advertisement

COLONIE - Mike VanNostrand provided the spark, Josh Ostrander the assist and MacKenzie Groff the goal for the Northville Falcons Saturday.

With the score tied at two near the midway point of overtime,Bolton's Connor Smith turned the corner on the Northville defense and was 1-on-1 with VanNostrand. The senior goalkeeper stretched out to get a glove on Smith's shot to deflect the attempt, allowing the Falcons' defense to clear the ball.

Jimmy Cole received the long pass out of the back and raced quickly upfield before having the ball knocked away and over the end line giving the Falcons a corner kick from the left side.

Ostrander lifted the kick just out of reach of the Eagles' goalkeeper Mitchell Jordan and Groff headed the ball into the back of the net with 9:49 remaining in overtime to give Northville its second-straight Section II Class D championship, 3-2.

"I was able to put the ball in good all day," Ostrander said. "So I just put it in there and hoped MacKenzie would be there and I am glad he was."

For Groff it was his second goal of the match. The senior midfielder scored early in the second half, also on a head ball, off a throw-in from Ostrander.

"It is kind of incredible right now," Groff said while clutching the championship plaque. "Mike made a great save down there and Josh put a great ball in and I was just there to put it in."

Northville (16-1-1) advances to regional play and receives an opening-round bye. The Falcons will face the winner of Tuesday's match between Family School of Section 9 and Smithtown Christian of Section 11 Saturday at a place and time to be determined.

Bolton (16-3-0), which previously competed in Section VII, made its debut in the Section II tournament an impressive one. The fourth-seeded Eagles knocked off No. 1 Fort Ann 1-0 in overtime Thursday to reach the championship game against the defending champion Falcons.

Northville pressured the Bolton defense early, but it was the Eagles that broke through for the first goal of the match.

With 29:37 left in the opening half, Connor Smith and VanNostrand went up for a 50-50 ball in the goalmouth. They collided but Smith got enough of the ball to direct it into the goal for a 1-0 advantage.

It took the Falcons just three minutes to answer the score.

Groff won the ball away from a Bolton defender along the left sideline and sent a cross into the box that Ostrander gathered in and split a pair of defenders before finishing the play to tie the match at one with 26:37 left in the opening half.

Northville remained on the attack through the final minutes with Groff and Cole putting attempts on goal off long throw ins from Ostrander, but Jordan was up to the task, making saves on both shots.

The Falcons broke the tie with 1:19 left in the opening half after Ostrander put a long flip-throw deep into the box that Groff headed on net. Jordan got a glove on the header, but it deflected inside the left post to give Northville a 2-1 halftime advantage.

Northville threatened to extend its lead early in the second half when Ostrander put a corner kick into the penalty area that Jordan misjudged and Cole headed on net. However, defender Matt Peterson stopped the attempt and Eric Fisher cleared the ball off the line. The ball did not clear the box as it bounced around in a crowd of players before Jordan dove on the loose ball for the save.

Bolton picked up its pace and got the equalizer with 24:20 left in regulation.

Harry Caldwell put a centering pass into the box near the penalty spot. Smith ran on to the ball as did VanNostrand. Smith kept the ball moving as VanNostrand scrambled on the ground, getting a glove on the ball three times but could not bring it under control. Smith kept his balance and held off a challenge from Dustin Mineconzo and Dylan Allen to slip the ball into the goal for the equalizer.

Both teams put together solid runs on goal only to have VanNostrand and Jordan come up big with saves to keep the score tied at the end of regulation.

Northville controlled the early pace in the overtime session earning a corner kick, but the Eagles put together the first big threat of the overtime with just over 10 minutes to play.

Smith collected a long pass out of his defense, beat his defender about 35 yards away from the goal and angled toward net. VanNostrand charged off his line to cut down the angle and timed his dive to get a glove on Smith's shot. the ball rolled wide and the Northville defenders hustled to clear the ball upfield.

"It was reaction and positioning you just have to be ready," VanNostrand said. "I got one hand on it and made the save. In the beginning they took us out of our game and we had to settle down a little bit."

The save swung momentum in favor of the Falcons as they pushed the ball forward to Cole who dribbled deep into the Eagles defense before being bodied off the ball, sending it over the end line for a corner kick.

Ostrander set up the play from the left side, putting an in-swinger into the center of the goal mouth, just over Jordan's hand as he leaped for the ball. Groff timed his jump to get a head on the ball and put it under the crossbar for the game-winner with 9:49 left on the clock.

"We were a little frustrated and got out of our game a little bit," Groff said. "But we bounced back and got the job done. I think we are more experienced. We have a lot of guys who played in the games last year and know what to expect."

Ostrander agreed that the experience from last year's run into regional play helped.

"Last year helped, but this year it was harder all the way through the year and the tournament was a lot tougher," he said. "Our offense builds off our defense and our midfield builds off them. We just had to put it all together."

For the game, Northville held a 10-8 advantage in shots and 9-7 edge in corner kicks.

For the Northville soccer teams it was a repeat performance of last year's double championship as the Lady Falcons locked up their second straight sectional championship Friday night with a 2-1 victory over Whitehall. The Lady Falcons are waiting to find out the date, time and opponent of their regional contest.