By Rob Centorani
Staff Writer

ENDICOTT — Almost from the outset, the timing was never quite there for Oneonta High's girls soccer team on a frigid Monday night at Ty Cobb Stadium.

However, the Yellowjackets can rest easy, knowing they played Union-Endicott much closer than 3-0 outcome in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference final.

Twin sisters Kelly and Nikki Burnham combined on the Tigers' first goal three minutes into the match. Kelly sent a corner kick toward the near post and Nikki headed the ball from about 6 yards. It hit the crossbar on the wide side and deflected down about yard past the goal line.

"Our coach always tells us to try and hit it before it hits the ground," Nikki Burnham said. "It went off the back of my head, hit the crossbar and deflected in."

"That first goal hurt, simply because we weren't used to the field and we weren't in the game, yet," said Oneonta coach Helen Sandford, whose top-seeded team will play host to No. 8-seed Susquehanna Valley today in a Section Four Class B Tournament quarterfinal.

"I'm not discouraged," she continued. "I think the game was a heckuva lot closer than 3-0."

The Yellowjackets (16-2) had the better of play for most of the first half. They outshot the Tigers, 4-3, in the first half, but none were quality shots.

"I was very impressed with Oneonta," said U-E coach Bill Stepanvosky, whose team is ranked eighth in the state and seeded first for the Class A sectionals. "I talked them up big to our team, because they deserve it. They have a lot of girls who can beat you, but they haven't seen our defense and the type of speed we have."

The best scoring opportunity for Oneonta came with two minutes left in the first half. Melissa Pidgeon beat a U-E defender around the baseline before lofting a crossing pass that Jen Compton headed from 10 yards out. The ball bounced off a U-E defender and to an Oneonta player, but U-E cleared it before the 'Jackets could get another shot away.

"I think they were a little faster than us, but in terms of skill, I think we were pretty equal," Pidgeon said. "Of course, goals are what count."

Brittany Mykytyn hit a hard shot from 18 yards with 10 seconds left in the first half, but U-E goalie Rachael Cornick was in position to make the save.

"I think once we got settled in the first half, we played really strong the second 20 minutes," said Sandford, whose team is ranked first in the state in Class B.

The Tigers (15-2-1) took a 2-0 lead 10 minutes into the second half. Again, it came off a corner kick, and again, Kelly Burnham was involved.

Angela Mastro's corner went into a sea defenders in front of the goal. The ball popped out to Burnham, who was stationed about 15 yards out on the right side. She settled the ball before hitting a low shot into the far corner.

"In the beginning of the season, we haven't been successful on corner kicks, but recently we have," Kelly Burnham said.

Stepanovsky added: "No (we haven't had success on corner kicks), but we tried something different. We're working on being more aggressive in the box and that's one area that has improved."

Arguably the best goal of the night came from Rhonda Owens. On a free kick from 25 yards out, she sent a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the goal that Breanna Gault had no chance to save. It made the score 3-0 with 21:40 left.

One thing that played into U-E's favor was its familiarity with the artificial surface at Ty Cobb Stadium. The field is 75 yards wide and the ball moves much faster than it does on grass.

"We had nice crosses, but we just couldn't get to them," Sandford said. "The usual team work and unity on the passing was only there sporadically.

"The ball runs faster and it skids, but you have to adapt to it," she continued.

Nikki Burnham said she feels her team had a considerable home-field advantage.

"We're used to how the ball moves and how it bounces," she said. "We know when to make our runs."

Pidgeon added: "It was horrible, because it skidded so fast and the bounces were higher. But you can't blame the game on that. It's how you play."

• Oneonta's junior varsity girls also lost in the STAC Championship on Monday, falling to Seton Catholic Central, 3-1. OHS finished at 14-2, with both losses coming against SCC. The Saints beat the Yellowjackets, 2-0, on Sept. 19 during the regular season.

U-E 3, ONEONTA 0

U-E 1 2 — 3

Oneonta (16-2): None.

Union-Endicott (15-2-1): Kelly Burnham 1-1; Nikki Burnham 1-0; Rhonda Owens 1-0.

Shots-corner kicks: Oneonta 5-2; U-E 9-4.

Goalies: Breanna Gault (O) 4; Rachael Cornick (U-E) 5.