It's State Championship weekend in Boys & Girls Soccer and Field Hockey

This weekend championships will be on the line in three NYSPHSAA fall sports.  

Seven teams from Section 2 remain, vying to be raising the Championship trophy by the end of the weekend.  

Guilderland, Maple Hill and Glens Falls remains in Boys Soccer, which will be playing their semifinals and championships at Middletown High School in Orange County.  Last year Section 2 sent four teams to Middletown, with 2 of those 4 making it to the championship.  

However, those 2 teams came up empty - Schalmont and Shaker.  

Over in Girls Soccer, Schalmont, Stillwater and Fort Ann will represent Section 2 as they play out west.  Schalmont plays at Cortland High School, while Stillwater and Fort Ann battle at Homer High School.  Last year three teams made it to the championship weekend, including Stillwater, but only Northville was able to leave champions.  

And in Field Hockey, Burnt Hills continues their pursuit for back-to-back championships at Arlington High School in Dutchess County. 

Here's a look at all 7 teams, and who they face this weekend.  

Class AAA Boys Soccer - GUILDERLAND DUTCHMEN: The Guilderland Dutchmen advanced to the State Tournament after being crowned co-champions along with Shenendehowa in Class AAA Boys Soccer two weeks ago.  The Dutchmen got to choose their path to Middletown after prevailing in the 11th round of penalty kicks, and chose to head to the Southern Tier to face Elmira instead of having to face Section 3's Baldwinsville out in Verona.

That decision paid off, as Baldwinsville would defeat Shenendehowa 2-1 after scoring with 8 minutes left to play on a rainy and windy Wednesday night in Central New York.  But it wasn't easy, as Guilderland would need to net a game-winning goal in overtime to get past Elmira.  

Fairport is their next opponent, the defending Class AAA Champions from the Rochester/Finger Lakes region.  Fairport defeated Shaker 2-1 in overtime to claim the title.  

Schedule:
Guilderland vs. Fairport (Section 5) - Saturday, 3:45PM
If Guilderland wins: State Championship vs. either Baldwinsville (Section 3) or Commack (Section 11) on Sunday, 12:30PM

Class A Boys Soccer - GLENS FALLS BLACK BEARS: This is uncharted territory for Glens Falls.  The Black Bears are making their first ever trip to the State Semifinals in Boys Soccer after winning their first sectional championship since 1976.  

The Black Bears get a stubborn foe in Rye on Saturday.  Should the Black Bears win, they get either East Aurora from the Western NY/Buffalo area, or a familiar foe from the football realm in Maine-Endwell from the Southern Tier.  East Aurora was state champions in 2023, playing in Class B that year. 

Schedule: 
Glens Falls vs. Rye (Section 1) - Saturday, 5:45PM
If Glens Falls wins: State Championship vs. either East Aurora (Section 6) or Maine-Endwell (Section 4) on Sunday, 1:00PM

Class C Boys Soccer - MAPLE HILL: 2021 and 2022 runners up returns to Middletown hoping to do what they did in 2006 and win the NYS championship.  But it will be a battle as they face the North Salem Tigers, last year's defending Class C Champions who ended Loudonville Christian's bid last November.  

Schedule: 
Maple Hill vs. North Salem (Section 1) - Saturday, 11AM
If Maple Hill wins: State Championship vs. either Wilson (Section 6) or Seton Catholic (Section 4) on Sunday, 10:00AM

Class A Girls Soccer - SCHALMONT: Schalmont has yet to allow a goal in the State Tournament, dispatching Peru 2-0 first, then heading out to Central New York to finish Jamesville-Dewitt 1-0.  But Rye too has yet to allow a goal in the State Tournament, knocking off Our Lady of Lourdes 3-0 and then Long Island's Sayville 2-0.   And they are 2023's champions.  Last year's runner's up, New Hartford, awaits on the other side of the bracket.

Schedule:
Schalmont vs. Rye (Section 1) - Saturday, 5PM
If Schalmont wins: State Championship vs. either Aquinas Institute (Section 5) or New Hartford (Section 3) on Sunday, 3:00PM

Class C Girls Soccer - STILLWATER: Last year's runners up rolled to an easy 5-0 win over Ticonderoga last Saturday, and now head west to face a team that made it one step further than they did last year after bowing out to Tuckahoe last season.  This year they had to take care of Frankfort-Schuyler in the Regional Finals.  

Stillwater would love nothing more than to get to rematch Byron-Bergen, who is on the other side of the bracket.  They have to face Tuckahoe before they can get to the finals. 

Schedule:
Stillwater vs. Burke Catholic (Section 9) - Saturday, 5PM
If Stillwater wins: State Championship vs. either Byron-Bergen (Section 5) or Tuckahoe (Section 1) on Sunday, 12:30PM

Class D Girls Soccer - FORT ANN: Fort Ann rolled to a 2-0 win over Eldred in the Regional Finals last Saturday at Stillwater High School, using their heads ... as well as the head of a Eldred player.  The Cardinals advanced to the State Tournament thanks to winning on Penalty Kicks vs. last year's State Champions Northville. 

On Saturday the Cardinals will have to face a school known for building great soccer programs in Chazy from up north.  Chazy won 2-1 over Chateaugay last week to advance to the semifinals. 

On the other side of the bracket is a Cincinnatus team that dropped from Class C to Class D this year, a team that Stillwater had to beat last year in the State Semifinals to advance to the Class C Championship.  

Schedule: 
Fort Ann vs. Chazy (Section 7) - Saturday, Noon
If Fort Ann wins: State Championship vs. either Fillmore (Section 5) or Cincinnatus (Section 3) on Sunday, 10:00AM

Class B Field Hockey - BURNT HILLS: Can Burnt Hills do it again?  If they can, they'll have to do it against a familiar foe.  The Spartans faced Garden City from Nassau County last year at Arlington High School, and shut them out 3-0 on their way to the championship where they defeated Lakeland by that same score.  Lakeland is not there this year, but another team they had to face last year on their path to the title is still alive - Section 4's Vestal.

Schedule:
Burnt Hills vs. Garden City (Section 8) - Saturday, Noon
If Burnt Hills wins: State Championship vs. either Pittsford-Mendon (Section 5) or Vestal (Section 4) on Sunday, 12:30PM

All matches above will stream on the NFHS Network for a subscription fee.