By Rob Centorani

Staff Writer

OTEGO _ ’Twas a game full of wind, rain and eventually darkness that by day’s end signified very little.

Unatego’s 2-1 victory over Bainbridge-Guilford on Tuesday assured the Bobcats they would not win the Midstate Athletic Conference girls soccer title.

The Spartans’ hopes of MAC championship ended when Sidney defeated host Unadilla Valley, 4-1, on Tuesday night, giving the Warriors their second straight league crown.

"I’m afraid (this victory) may have come too late," said Unatego coach Sue Herodes, whose team needed UV to upset Sidney (11-3 in league) to win the league title.

The wind was so harsh at times Tuesday that both portable shelters over the teams’ benches blew away before the game was five minutes old.

Amid the horrid conditions, juniors Kelly Fernandez and Katya Harris scored for Unatego (11-4-1, 10-3-1), which held off a late push by the Bobcats.

Harris’ goal six minutes into the second half gave Unatego a 2-0 lead. She received a ball from the right wing in the center of the field and split two B-G defenders, setting up a breakaway against Anna Feltham.

About 15 yards from the goal, Harris shot toward the right post and Feltham made a diving save, but could not secure the rebound. Harris followed her shot and drove the rebound into the back of the net from 2 yards.[an error occurred while processing this directive]

"There was a big opening and I thought, �I should go there,’" Harris said. "I just saw (my shot) bounce off her hands and coach Herodes had been telling us to go after your shots, so that’s what I did."

The Bobcats (11-4-2, 9-3-1), who could have clinched the league title with a victory Tuesday, halved their deficit on Megan Ives’ goal with 16 minutes left.

Ives was the beneficiary of a well-placed pass by Jennifer Patten. After receiving a pass along the right baseline, Patten turned and sent a diagonal pass back toward the left-middle of the penalty box.

Ives came from the midfield, just beating a Unatego defender to the ball. She lined a low shot to the near post that barely got by diving Spartans goalie Gabi May.

Shortly after a Unatego player hit the crossbar on a 20-yard shot in near darkness, the Bobcats had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds.

From about 8 yards in the middle of the box, Patten took a side swipe, hitting the ball with the back side of her right foot and popped it wide and over the goal. B-G had three straight corner kicks in the final 30 seconds, but each of Patten’s kicks to the near post were cleared out of bounds by Unatego defenders.

"Unfortunately, I couldn’t see what was happening the last five minutes (because of darkness), but I knew there were some great opportunities," said B-G coach George Williams, whose team tied Unatego, 0-0, earlier this season. "I think we had them on the run."

Unatego’s defense limited B-G to four shots.

Freshman sweeper Ashley Mannina, and backs Sierra Birdsall and Nichole Beers kept B-G from taking many quality shots.

"These defenders have

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played outstanding all year," Herodes said. "They work very well together. They’re a lot of the reason we’ve had success, because we’re not scoring many goals."

Fernandez got the Spartans on the scoreboard 28 minutes into play. She beat B-G keeper Feltham to a ball Stephanie Havens crossed the right side and angled an 8-yard shot inside the far post.

"I just decided to go for the ball," Fernandez said. "I figured it was a 50-50 ball, and their goalie and the defender were both hesitant as to who was going to get the ball, so I was like, �Go, go’ and the goalie laid off and I slid in and got the ball."

Unatego is seeded ninth for the Section Four Class B tournament and will open against Elmira Notre Dame next Wednesday.

B-G, seeded third for the Class C tournament, has a bye and will play host to sixth-seeded Southern Cayuga a week from Saturday.

Unatego 2, B-G 1

B-G 0 1 _ 1

Unatego 1 1 _ 2

Bainbridge-Guilford (11-4-2, 9-3-1): Megan Ives 1-0, Jennifer Patten 0-1.

Unatego (11-4-1, 10-3-1): Kelly Fernandez 1-0, Stephanie Havens 0-1, Katya Harris 1-0.

Shots-corner kicks: B 4-6; U 8-9.

Goalies: Anna Feltham (B) 5; Gabi May (U) 3.

___

{"Body Text Italic"/}Rob Centorani can be reached at rcentorani@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 209.