MECHANICVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- There's a dynasty brewing in Waterford. For the second straight season, the Waterford-Halfmoon girls soccer team are champions of Class C.
The Fordians have reached the playoff final for three consecutive seasons, and have now won back-to-back section titles following Wednesday night's 2-1 win over second-seeded Stillwater at Mechanicville High School.
Top-seeded Waterford, the second-ranked team in the state for Class C, has now lost just three games in that three-year span, and only one has come against a fellow Section II team.
"Their hard work that they always put in day after day - they are a very motivated group," said head coach Meghan Reynolds. "They prove that every time they step foot on the field."
While Payton and Addyson Galuski's 67 combined goals have drawn the majority of the attention of both Waterford fans and its opposition, the Fordians possess a number of scoring threats, and that depth was displayed Wednesday night.
Sophomore Mia O'Brien netted both Waterford goals. She was assisted by senior Isabella Vecchio on her first goal in the seventh minute of action, and by Samara Roberts on her second, which came in the 55th minute.
"We felt a lot of pressure on our backs," said O'Brien. "That intensity - I feel like that just pumped us all (up). I mean, we were all super excited; (we) were talking about it all day. We're through the roof (right now). We're not stopping now - definitely not done."
Stillwater's lone goal came from junior Elliott Patenaude in the 67th minute on a top-shelf strike from just over 20 yards out. But the Fordians managed to run out the remaining 13 minutes and change, securing the 2-1 victory.
Waterford-Halfmoon (17-1-2) advances to the state tournament, and will receive a bye straight through to the regional round, where it awaits the winner in a sub-regional matchup between Section X's St. Lawrence Central and Section VII's Northern Adirondack.
Stillwater concludes a sterling season with an overall record of 15-2-2. The Warriors reached the fifth spot in the most recent New York State rankings for Class C.
