By P.J. Harmer

Staff Writer

ONEONTA — The Oneonta High girls soccer team got it half-right this weekend.

The Yellow

Star photo by Anita Briggs Queensbury’s Katie Hackenburg heads the ball as Oneonta’s Chacha Naito (14) and Ashley Frederick close in during the Daily Star Hall of Fame Cup on Sunday.

jackets lost, 4-0, to Section Two’s Queensbury on Sunday in the championship of the Daily Star Hall of Fame Cup. Oneonta advanced to the Group 12 final with a 2-1 victory Saturday over Section Three’s East Syracuse-Minoa.

"We didn’t do anything," Oneonta coach Jerry Mackey said after Sunday’s loss, which dropped his team to 3-4-1. "Defensively we were awful and our energy was awful. Queensbury played well, but as great as we looked Saturday, it’s how bad we looked today."

[an error occurred while processing this directive]The Spartans scored twice in each half to prevail in a sloppily played game.

"I love those kind of ugly games," Queensbury coach Tom Rosecrans said. "This is a young program and only had our first winning season last year. This is a lot of hard work coming together."

The Yellowjackets never got much going offensively against the Spartans (6-3).

"We weren’t doing anything up front," said Mackey, whose team had four shots. "When we did get into our end, it was like an all-or-nothing shot."

The Spartans pressured Oneonta for much of the first half, breaking through for a goal with 20 minutes, 16 seconds remaining.

The ball went off Kateri Rueckert’s heel and to Josie Ambrosini on the right side. Ambrosini scored to the opposite post, beating Oneonta goalie Heather Graig for a 1-0 lead.

The Spartans made it 2-0 with 9:56 left in the half when Alyx Herbert slipped a pass across the goal to Beth Pietrangelo on the right side. Pietrangelo stopped the ball and quickly shot to the middle of the goal before Graig could react.

"When it got to 2-0, I was still worried," Rosecrans said. "We lost two other tournaments in the championship in heartbreaking fashion."

The Spartans scored their final two goals in a two-minute span midway through the second half.

Theresa Wappett scored with 13:38 to play and Christine Grosso with 11:32 left.

Oneonta plays host to Whitney Point in a Southern Tier Athletic Conference game at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Jackets matched their loss total from 2004, when they went 16-4-3 and reached the Class A state final.

"We’ll keep after it," Mackey said. "We’re talented and it’s coming. But it feels like two steps forward, one step back this weekend.

"There’s nothing that’s happened that will prevent us from winning sectionals," continued Mackey. "If we play like (Saturday), I feel we can win sectionals and that’s our goal."

QUEENSBURY 4, ONEONTA 0

Queensbury 2 2 — 4

Oneonta 0 0 — 0

Queensbury (6-3): Josie Ambrosini 1-0, Beth Pietrangelo 1-1, Theresa Wappett 1-0, Christine Grosso 1-0, Kateri Rueckert 0-1, Alyx Herbert 0-1.

Shots-corners: Queensbury 14-5; Oneonta 4-1.

Goalies: Melanie Greene (Q) 4; Heather Graig (O) 4.

Kate Jaffie scored with three minutes remaining to snap a 1-all tie and give the Yellowjackets a victory in the opening round of the Daily Star Hall of Fame Cup.

Marie O’Malley also scored for Oneonta, which had a 9-8 advantage in shots. Jordan Parks made four saves for the Yellowjackets.

ONEONTA 2, EAST SYRACUSE-MINOA 1

ES-M 1 0 — 1

Oneonta 1 1 — 2

ES-M: Jen Lewis 1-0, Mehan O’Shaea 0-1.

Oneonta: Marie O’Malley 1-0, Kate Jaffie 1-1, Lindsey Doxstader 0-1.

Shots-corners: ES-M 8-14; Oneonta 9-2.

Goalies: Allison Christie (ES-M) 5; Jordan Parks (O) 4.

P.J. Harmer can be reached at pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.