CHAZY — Plattsburgh High coach Tim Mulligan said he had to "light a little fire under" his players at halftime Friday.

It worked.

The Hornets scored twice in the first seven minutes of the second half and played strong the rest of the way to win their third straight Section VII Class B girls' soccer championship with a 2-1 victory over Northeastern Clinton.

Plattsburgh (15-3-1) will take on Potsdam Tuesday in a NYSPHSAA regional game in Massena.

The Hornets fell behind in the opening minutes of the game, and Mulligan said they looked flat the whole first half.

Mulligan said they needed to "just play with more energy. Northeastern's a good team, but I felt like they had players who are average who were playing above themselves because they were just playing with a lot of heart. And I wasn't seeing it in the first half with us.

"Second half, we gave it a gutsy effort and grinded it out."

Sarah Carter sparked Plattsburgh 5:45 into the second half when she put in Charisse Abellard's throw-in out of midair.

Less than two minutes later, Marle Curle got to the ball out front after a corner kick and sent it in the right side. Madison Trombley and Abellard assisted.

"Corner kicks are always going to be dangerous, and Marle Curle found a way to get herself in the right position at the right time," Mulligan said. "She's been huge the second half of the season."

Emily Schultz finished with six saves for Plattsburgh. The Hornets were outshot 7-5 in the first half and then had a 10-1 advantage in the second.

Northeastern Clinton (12-7) went ahead when Alli Ebersol beat Schultz to the left off of a corner kick 3:53 into the game. Taylor Kelsey had the assist.

The Cougars hit the crossbar with about 10 minutes left in the first half and had another good scoring chance shortly before halftime.

Ayisha Loya made 13 saves for the Cougars.

"I'm real happy with the way my players played," Northeastern Clinton coach Josie Gilroy said. "Came out tough in the first half and got that leading goal, and we were excited.

"It was a little tough to come back (in the second half), but we kept trying. We didn't give up until the bitter end. We had a couple good chances near the end."

—

Plattsburgh High 2, NCCS 1

NCCS10—1

Plattsburgh02—2

First half- 1, NCCS, Ebersol (Kelsey), 3:53.

Second half- 2, PHS, Carter (Abellard), 5:45. 3, PHS, Curle (Trombley, Abellard), 7:17.

Shots- Northeastern Clinton 8, PHS 15.

Saves- Loya, NCCS, 13. Schultz, PHS, 6.

E-mail Courtney Lewis at: clewis@pressrepublican.com