DRYDEN _ Sure, defense wins championships.
We've all heard that, but I've always been a big believer that conditioning wins championships.
Especially state championships, because teams still around late in the season are usually comparable in talent, so intangibles such as which team can maintain its focus in the late stages of games can be the difference between winning and losing.
And conditioning allowed Edmeston's girls soccer team to earn a share of Class D state championship this past weekend.
Actually, the roots of Edmeston's first state title in girls soccer can be traced to the second halves and overtimes of their final eight games, when the tireless Panthers seemed to wear down their opposition.
They outscored teams with a combined 126-16-5 record (at the time they played Edmeston), 10-4, after halftime of those games. The last two opponents _ Chazy and S.S. Seward _ earned state championships a year ago.
Edmeston tied Seward, 2-2, in the state final on a rainy Saturday morning at Tompkins Cortland Community College.
The Spartans (22-0-1) tied the score in the second half and dominated play over the final 40 minutes of regulation. Section Nine's Seward outshot Edmeston, 9-2, in the second half.
But Edmeston (22-0-2) turned the tables in the four overtime periods, enjoying a 5-2 advantage in shots.
"They've been that way all season," 10th-year coach Melanie Mumbulo said, when asked about her team's ability to bounce back after being outplayed in the second half. "They never stop playing."
Junior Kori Hamm had two excellent chances and set up a third opportunity for Edmeston in overtime. She lined a low, 25-yard shot from the left wing that Seward goalie Alina Greiser smothered. From the middle of the field, Hamm shot high from 25 yards.
Another run by Hamm down the left side resulted in a crossing pass that Ashley Harbison nearly finished, but Greiser came out and got a piece of the shot.
Hamm finished the season with an area-best 42 goals and also had 13 assists.
I saw a lot of talented players over the past few weeks, but no one could affect a game the way Hamm did with her speed and footwork. When covering flow sports such as soccer, basketball or lacrosse, I've always looked for passing options for players, but when watching Hamm, I sometimes felt cheated when she passed.
Not that Edmeston didn't have capable scorers other than Hamm _ it did, and that showed through many times during the postseason _ but she's so creative with the ball that I wanted to see what she'd do next. Instead of thinking, "Why is she trying to beat three defenders?" I'd think, "I wonder if she can beat those three defenders?"
"We were worried about Kori Hamm," Spartans coach Joe DiMattina said, "but I thought we did a good job keeping her in check."
This run of Panthers' success is probably not over.
They'll take a 24-game unbeaten streak into next season, when the Panthers will aim for their third straight Tri-Valley League and sectional titles.
Key players such as midfielders Emily Slentz, Stefanie Cornnell and Emily Bliss, and defenders Denyse Schoellig and Brittany Martin will graduate, but Edmeston has key players returning.
Juniors Hamm, goalie Susanna Johnson and forward Ashley Harbison, and sophomores Taylor Ross (defense), Samantha Martin (defense) and Morghen Axtell (midfield) should provide a strong nucleus for Edmeston.
Johnson said she'll miss practicing with her teammates. She described them Saturday as a fun-loving bunch who'd dance and sing on bus trips.
This group was also superstitious.
Before every game this season, fifth-year varsity player Cornnell _ at the urging of teammates _ ate a peach. Cornnell, who assisted Amanda Belden's goal 3 1/2 minutes into the title game, was forced to turn to the canned variety recently as peaches are no longer in season.
New rules
Four rules have to change in soccer for me to become a true convert to the sport.
The game's been growing on me the past several years, but there are four specific things that absolutely need fixing before I start paying closer attention.
I'll list them from four to one:
4. Turning the clock off for the final two minutes before halftime, regulation and overtime periods.
Who came up with this idea?
Imagine watching the Super Bowl and hearing John Madden say as Peyton Manning's orchestrating a winning drive late in the fourth quarter, "Sorry, folks. The NFL decided this season it wants to keep the clock a secret from its fans late in games."
There isn't a single reason the final two minutes have to be kept on the field by officials. This is ridiculous and should be changed immediately.
3. This one's going to irk the purists out there, but what's the meaning of the offsides rule and how does it make soccer a better game?
Offensive players should have the freedom to go wherever they want and it shouldn't matter where the opposition's last defender is positioned. It should be the defense's responsibility to cover offensive players, period.
Here's an example that shows why this rule needs to be eliminated.
Say there's a goal kick and everyone is moving up near midfield. Then say the goalie hits it off the side of her foot and it goes 15 yards. The opposing forward notices it, but because she's closer to the goalie than the sweeper, she can't do anything about it.
Why? It makes no sense.
2. Ties in state championship games are bad.
If you ask me about the Edmeston-Seward game 5 years from now, I'm not going to remember what was a well played game in trying conditions. I'm going to remember they were named co-champions. I'll remember that 110 minutes of soccer resolved nothing.
I'm certain players for Edmeston and Seward didn't list "co-champions" as a goal for the season in late August.
The reason the game ended in a tie is because soccer has perhaps the worst tie-breaking rule in sports.
Which bring us to our top rule change ...
1. Find a new solution to avoid ties.
Penalty-kick shootouts are clearly not the answer.
Allow me to re-propose a plan from two years ago, when Laurens boys soccer played back-to-back games decided by shootouts, the latter a loss in a Class D state semifinal.
Back then, I wrote two lines 25 yards from each end line should be added to the field _ "overtime lines," if you will.
Once overtime begins, any shot taken inside the lines the goalie has to save would be worth a point. If a shot hits a post or cross bar, it would be worth two points. If the overtime periods don't produce any goals, the team with the highest-point total would win.
There are four aspects I like about this proposal:
It's mine.
It doesn't change the game.
It would, in most cases, identify the better team.
It would lead to goals. If defenses had to contest shots out to 25 yards, it would open up the field for goals. Also, if a team fell behind in points, it would have to change strategy and play a more attacking style.
Make those four changes and you've got me.
Rob Centorani covers high school soccer for The Daily Star. E-mail him at rcentorani@thedailystar.com.
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