Somers slips past Vestal with late goal in Class AA girls soccer subregional


Wave after wave of Somers offensive pressure in the second half Wednesday paid off when Tiana Righetti scored the tiebreaking goal with 4 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in a 2-1 victory over Vestal at Johnson City High School.

The goal off a feed from Adrianna Cooke sent the Tuskers into a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA regional final Saturday.

Each coach showed appreciation for the high level of play during a cold and sometimes snowy battle between champions from Section 1 and Section 4.

“It was a great game,” Somers coach Kelci Hegg said. “It was one of the toughest games we’ve had all year and that’s a credit to Vestal. They’re very well organized. They played a similar game to us, very possession oriented. It was really pretty soccer to watch.”

Said Vestal coach Gina Talbut: “We knew Somers coming up was going to be a tough opponent and I think both teams played extremely well. When you have a hard-fought game like that, it’s just nice to watch.”

Game Balls

Vestal’s Ava Schmidt (13) and Somers’ Annie Maguire go after the ball during Somers’ 1-0 victory in a Class AA girls soccer subregional Nov. 1, 2023 at Johnson City High School.

In addition to the Righetti winner, Somers also got a score from Syracuse University commit Julia Arbelaez on a near-side shot into the lower left corner with 34:17 to go in the opening half.

Vestal junior midfielder Ava Schmidt answered with 14:17 to go in the half, blasting a shot into the far corner off a feed from Alaina Browning.

Hegg praised Schmidt as “a great player” and her goal set the stage for a tense battle the rest of the way.

“Even though Somers scored early, I knew the girls wouldn’t drop the momentum,” Talbut said. “Obviously after that goal it really stepped up.”

Key for Somers

Somers’ Bridget Kossow (24) controls the ball as Vestal’s Ava Brunetti (20) defends Somers’ 1-0 victory in a Class AA girls soccer subregional Nov. 1, 2023 at Johnson City High School.

Halftime adjustments helped the Tuskers amp up the pressure in the second half while reducing Vestal’s chances.

“We knew we needed to stop some of their services,” Hegg said. “They do a good job of playing the ball in and setting it and playing the next highest player, so we knew we needed to stop the service and I think we did that a little bit better in the second half.”

More: Section 4 girls soccer tournament 2023 pairings

How Tuskers secured victory

Righetti said possibly nerves were at play, with Somers players “too excited” on some scoring chances that went awry or were denied by Golden Bears keeper Gabby Kwiatkowski. But Righetti was confident a breakthrough was coming.

“We just knew we had to get back into how we play,” she said. “We kept saying this entire time that we have to make the team uncomfortable and do things they’re not used to doing and I think that’s exactly what we tried to do and I think it worked.”

Righetti’s blast off the Cooke cross went into the front, upper netting and over the goal line.

“It was a drive and Tiana was able to find Adrianna on the outside, who then did a beautiful one-two,” Hegg said. “Adrianna has great feet and so does Tiana and Tiana just took a touch and found the back of the net. It was a really nice buildup.”

Said Righetti: “As a shot I’m remembering to stay calm and focused. It definitely went a little higher than I wanted it to, but … “

Talbut praised the manner in which her team adjusted on the fly to Somers’ tactics and skill, adding of the goal the Bears “just got caught in a little bit of a tired moment.”

Special season for Golden Bears

Vestal’s Ava Schmidt controls the ball in front of Somers’ Julia Arbelaez during Somers’ 1-0 victory in a Class AA girls soccer subregional Nov. 1, 2023 at Johnson City High School.

Vestal finished with a 16-2-1 record that included 16 wins in a row following a season-opening loss. The Golden Bears won the Southern Tier Athletic Conference tournament title with a 3-0 win over Horseheads before advancing to states on penalty kicks after playing Ithaca to a 1-1 tie in the Section 4 final.

“It’s been wonderful,” Talbut said. “Going from last year, our record wasn’t that great, we didn’t make STAC. This year I feel like we had such a tight-knit family as a team. Just having such a good season and winning STAC and moving on to sectionals and this was our 13th (sectional title) in row.

“It’s just always such a pleasure to be with these girls because they’re great kids, they work so hard and I just love watching them.”

By the numbers

Somers has now outscored opponents by a combined 77-13 this season.

Up Next

Somers (21-0) will face Section 9 champion Valley Central (12-4) in the regional final/state quarterfinal at 3 p.m. Nov. 4 at Wallkill High School.

“I’m really excited,” Righetti said. “This is the furthest we’ve been in so long and I think we just have to calm our nerves and play how we know how to play.”

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at [email protected]. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: How Somers beat Vestal in Class AA girls soccer regional semifinal



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