Sachem East captures first state championship

CICERO, N.Y. -- Jordan Miller had said Saturday that pressure has one of two effects on people: it can crush them or provide the impetus to excel.

Well, championship game tied in penalty strokes understanding that even a flinch in the wrong direction ends this dream season. How's that for a crucible?

"It's the make-or-break moment," the Sachem East goalie said. "I just had to."

The shot was a low liner headed for the left corner. Miller threw herself and sprawled out for the stop. Her save - of the ball and the Flaming Arrows' season - forced a one-on-one stroke-off to decide the Class A field hockey state champion.

Jessica Caruana shuffled right, swung across her body and blasted one inside the left post for Sachem East. Mamaroneck's Jessica Gardiner sent one toward the right corner that clanged off the post.

A once-rollicking stadium had its volume lowered to hospital waiting room levels - fans likely stunned from the dramatics or trying to process what occurred.

Then the PA announcement: "Sachem East, your New York State champions!"

The team that never had won counties, that entered the season ranked third in its division, now sits atop Class A with yesterday's 1-0 (1-0) win over Mamaroneck. They had also edged Greene in strokes in Saturday's state semifinal.

"It's incredible," Caruana, a senior, said. "When the ball went in, I had no feeling in my body. This is unreal."

The Flaming Arrows (21-1) went stretches without midfielder Kristen Bagley, one of its stars, who injured her right knee nine minutes in. They also were outplayed in the first half (the Tigers had a 7-0 shots on goal advantage), but Samantha Alvino, the starting goalie, offset that with 12 saves - several of them acrobatic - to keep it scoreless through two overtimes. She, along with Katie Trombetta and Katie Doherty, received all-tournament honors.

Caruana and Kelsey Lock scored, and Miller made three saves as the first round of strokes ended tied at 2.

Sachem East coach Tina Moon, who also won a state title as a Centereach player, admitted to being "lost for words" in describing her team's crowning moment. No matter. The karaoke machine was cranked up on the bus ride home. Moon's song of choice? Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," which, for this group, now seems more apropos than ever.

"My goal has always been to be at the bottom of a dog pile in states, being part of a celebration," Alvino, a senior, said. "It finally happened."