By Dean Russin

Sports Editor

COOPERSTOWN — Practice makes perfect for the Cooperstown girls soccer team.

So far.

Two perfectly executed corner kicks led the undefeated Redskins to a 3-1 Center State Conference victory over Division II nemesis Sauquoit Valley on a sun-drenched Tuesday afternoon.

"We practice those for like three hours a day," said senior midfielder Dana Leonard, who assisted both goals with precision deliveries from the right corner. "It was good to see them finally working so well. I don’t know why we pr[an error occurred while processing this directive]actice them so much. It’s just something we do."

Leonard, who improved her team-best assist total to seven, found junior forward Lindsay Soraci with a liner to the near post for the go-ahead goal. Soraci poked the ball from the air to the lower-right corner, beating SV freshman goalie Carina DeSimone to break a 1-1 tie with 24 minutes, 28 seconds left.

"I just came in and put my foot out there," said Soraci, who converted a pass from Anna Kieler 16:10 into the game to help the Redskins (11-0 overall, 5-0 CSC Division II) to a 1-0 lead at the half.

Soraci played decoy on the final goal. Her hard run from the middle of the 18-yard box to the near post forced the Indians’ defense to cheat right, leaving the far post unguarded. That allowed sophomore Lindsay Valentine to sneak in for a back-door header off a long, lofted corner from Leonard.

"We’ve practiced (corners) a lot for these situations," said fourth-year Cooperstown coach Jennifer Pindar, whose team is ranked third in the state in Class C. "It’s not the most important part (of practices), but we do focus on it heavily. It just gives us such an opportunity to score. We have so many girls inside the box who are there to maybe get the ball in, so that’s why we practice it."

Despite controlling the pace during the first half, Cooperstown struggled to beat DeSimone, who seemed much more experienced than a first-year goalie. She fielded several low bouncers with sure hands and picked the right times to charge the ball.

Kieler found a way to beat her early, though. Working from the left, Kieler danced away from two SV defenders near the sideline and created just enough room for a long through ball to the middle with a sharp turn to the inside. A sprinting Soraci narrowly beat DeSimone to the ball, squirting a shot over the sliding keeper inside the left post.

"I thought I hit it too light," Soraci said, "so I was really happy it went in."

DeSimone prevented the Redskins from taking a 2-0 lead with a reaction save moments later, poking a close-range one-timer from Laura Rowley over the crossbar. Her save seemed to spark the Indians (4-3-1, 3-1-1), who tied the score 11:37 into the second half.

After having no corner kicks in the first half, SV took four inside the first 10 minutes of the second half. Its pressure led to a break down the right side that forced Cooperstown goalie Cortney Rowley (three saves) out of the net. Kristen Nicewicz bounced a pass over Rowley to Lauren Przyluke, who converted into an open goal.

Two Cooperstown corner kicks later, the game was all but over.

"We knew going into those corners, they place the ball so well," said 11th-year SV coach Tim Clive, whose team beat Cooperstown two out of three games last fall, including a 2-1 sectional victory that ended the Redskins season. "They’re always tough. We knew they were going to be difficult this year."

Cooperstown, which opened 2004 with a 12-game unbeaten streak before falling, 3-0, to Sauquoit, could be that much tougher this season thanks to a potent defense.

Led by strong-footed sweeper Briana Turi and ball-stalking stopper Rachael Kuch, Cooperstown’s defense allowed SV few scoring chances. Perhaps the defining moment for a defense that has yielded five goals thus far came as the referee counted down the last 10 seconds Tuesday. With SV threatening inside the 6-yard box and Cortney Rowley out of position, senior defender Kristi O’Neil swooped in from the right side to clear the ball.

"I think we’re a very good team," Pindar said. "I think we’re solid from defense to midfield to forwards. I think we’re a very strong team and we have the potential to go very far in the season.

"If they play hard to the end, you can’t be upset," she continued. "They’ve proven themselves to play right to the very last second."

COOPERSTOWN 3, SAUQUOIT VALLEY 1

Sauquoit Valley 0 1 — 1

Cooperstown 1 2 — 3

Sauquoit Valley (4-3-1, 3-1-1): Lauren Przyluke 1-0, Kristen Nicewicz 0-1.

Cooperstown (11-0, 5-0): Lindsay Soraci 2-0, Lindsay Valentine 1-0, Dana Leonard 0-2, Anna Kieler 0-1.

Shots-corners: S 8-5; C 15-5.

Goalies: Carina DeSimone (S) 6; Cortney Rowley (C) 3.