It was a rough start for the Weedsport Varsity Field Hockey team, as they played against well-known foe Morrisville-Eaton, but after a couple bursts of energy, and a dominant offensive presence, Weedsport came out victorious 2-0 on Sunday morning.

However, according to head coach Theresa Leonardi, the fourth consecutive trip to the Sectional Finals should never be expected.

“This team showed tremendous heart, as you know we started out 1-4 and there some pretty dark clouds,” said Leonardi. “They showed tremendous effort through the season.”

The semi-final game started off with a lot of back and forth action, and there was some great opportunities for Weedsport, but nothing seemed to go into the net behind M-E’s goaltender.

“It was sort of an ugly game and we didn’t always play well at times,” said Leonardi, “but they did what they needed to do to get the job done.”

However, after a strong offensive presence, and a couple opportunities, Ashley Wightman scored, off an assist from Libby Nemec, with 4:15 left in the first half. This was her first of two goals in the game.

“In practice, we practiced sweeping a lot,” said Wightman. “I just concentrated on staying low, making sure my stick was down, and my feet were towards the goal. I was just trying to concentrate on that.”

That momentum from the goal shifted to not only the rest of the half, but the rest of the game. With dominant offense, and more shots on net, the Warriors were able to score a second goal – one that came unassisted, but was scored again by Ashley Wightman.

“[Wightman] played phenomenal,” said Leonardi about Wightman, but she credited her entire team. “[The entire team] is important to us.”

On the opposite side of the field, the defense performed well, when they were challenged. Goaltender Nicole Soutar had a 0-save shut out, to preserve the victory. The defense was able to stop a couple corners, and didn’t let the ball come close to Soutar.

Now, for the fourth year in a row, Weedsport will head to the Section III Class D Final. However, this time, they will play a local rival: the Moravia Blue Devils – a team they have gone 1-0-1 with throughout the season. The most recent time, a tie that helped the Warriors win the league title.

“We know how skilled Moravia is and how fast they are…You don’t get to this point in the season without being good,” said Leonardi. “We’re just happy to be playing in the finals.”

The No. 1 seeded Warriors will take on the No. 2 Blue Devils, who defeated New York Mills 2-1, on Thursday, October 27, at Rome Free Academy with a time to be determined. A win on Thursday would result in a third-consecutive sectional championship for Weedsport.