Archive: Sports

On an overcast Saturday at the Wright National Soccer Fields in Oneonta, NY the Lansing Boys Soccer team warmed up for their regional championship contest against Section 3 Bishop Ludden.  But 10 minutes before the start of the contest their opponent had yet to arrive.  Finally, the bus with the Bishop Ludden team arrived and an extra 30 minutes was put on the warm-up clock to allow this opponent time to warm up.

This didn't faze the Lansing boys because once the game started, 20 minutes late, the Lansing team dominated the first half of play.


The Bobcats had nine shots on goal, two free kicks and four corners vs Bishop Ludden's one free kick and one corner.  Still the halftime score was 0-0.

One and a half minutes into the second half, Bobcat forward Lanston Hopkins picked up a ball from Bobcat goalie Jack Yahn's goal kick that bounced over the Bishop Ludden defender and took a shot on goal. The shot was saved and bounced back to Hopkins who was on the 18-yard line. Hopkins took a second shot, this time putting it in the back of the net over the Bishop Ludden goalie, putting the Bobcats up 1-0.  Bishop Ludden increased their offensive pressure for the remaining time in the second half but the back line of the Bobcats kept them off the board.

The win gives the Bobcats the Regional Championship and a trip back to the State Final Four in Middletown, NY this weekend.  The Bobcats (18-3) will play the Section 5 champion, World of Inquiry (18-1-1) on Saturday, November 12th.  The winner of that game will play in the Class C State Championship game on Sunday, November 13th, at 12:30pm on the turf at Middletown's Faller Field.


Lansing has been in this position for four years starting in 2011 and has yet to come up without a state championship.  Is this the year they can do it?  First year coach, Benji Parkes, who took over after the untimely death of longtime coach Adam Heck, says it's simple, "You've got to stay focused."

Everything is focused on two more games.

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