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Friends girls blank Seward, head upstate
Kasey Katz felt she needed a goal. With her team's offense struggling in the first half, the Friends Academy sophomore forward wanted to be the one to put the Quakers on the board.
Katz got her chance less than five minutes into the second half when Jamie Genatt's shot from inside the 18-yard box bounced off the goalkeeper and to the feet of Katz.
"You've got to get something on it," Katz said of her putback goal in the 45th minute. "Anything, a foot, head -- I wanted it so bad."
Katz and Heather Maierle scored to lead Friends Academy past S.S. Seward, 2-0, in the Class C girls soccer Southeast Regional final Saturday afternoon at Denton Ave. Park. It is the first regional title for Friends Academy (11-0-1), which faces Keshequa in the state semifinals at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at SUNY-Cortland's white field.
The Quakers controlled the game from start to finish, allowing just one shot to reach goalkeeper Claudia Ratner.
"Our defense has been our rock solid strength of this team," Friends Academy coach Gail Baker said. "We sometimes struggle with the scoring but those girls in the back have been the heart and soul."
Maierle's penalty kick with 3:51 left sealed the win for the Quakers.
"I saw the goalie going to her right before I even started to kick it," Maierle said. "I knew if I hit it anywhere close to the left it was going to go in."
Heather Fraser made five saves for S.S. Seward.
