Fun And Games

when an empty-net goal by Duffy locked up a 4-1 final score and a spot in Saturday’s title game.

Saturday saw United take on a familiar foe in Clinton. The two teams played twice during the regular season, splitting a pair of meetings on Jan. 2 and Jan. 20.

Similar to Friday’s win, United jumped out to a strong start, taking a 1-0 lead just over five minutes in after Lillian Willis danced around a defender and beat Clinton goaltender Casey Clausen.

“We were trying just to convince Lillian that she needs to walk in and shoot more,” said Willis of the game’s opening goal. “In the latter part of the season, especially the last two weeks, she’s done a lot more of that and been really successful.”

But the Warriors responded, tying the game just over a minute later. MacKinley Ronan threw a shot on goal that deflected off an Adirondack defender and past goalie Ava Reynolds.

Adirondack settled in and outshot Clinton 25-9 in the game but couldn’t crack Clausen for another goal. Willis referred to the Warriors’ netminder as “one of the best goaltenders in New York State.”

“We just didn’t move the puck fast enough or release the puck quick enough to beat her,” said

LATHAM — The Saratoga Springs varsity gymnastics team continued their remarkable run last week, capturing the team’s 21st consecutive Section 2 Championship on Feb. 15.

The Blue Streaks will send

Willis. “When you look at the 5-0 game that we had against Clinton (on Jan. 20), we did an excellent job of that. They took away our time and space and didn’t give us as many opportunities.”

With under two minutes remaining, an Adirondack shot was blocked and turned into a 2-on-1 rush for Clinton, with Drew Kopek beating Reynolds to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead. United threw several chances on net in the final minutes but were unable to even the score.

Despite the tough loss, Willis

Puzzle Solutions

See puzzles pg. 24 six competitors to states: Olivia Allen, Maddie Austin, Gia DiMaggio, Lily McKinley, Ellie Ott, and Charlie Gleeksman. Bethlehem’s Kate Browne was the top all-around finisher. Austin placed second all-around, while said “there were a ton of successes,” to take away from the season, and emphasized the future of the program.

Ott placed third, powered by a first-place finish in vault events. Browne took first overall in the uneven bars, while Guilderland’s Addison Seebode placed first in both the balance beam and floor events.

“It’s not just about this season, it’s about what this turns into,” said Willis. “There was a whole 12U Northstars team that showed up because they were playing out in the area, and they stopped in to watch and support this team. That’s where I start to see the impact.”

And while the championship loss is still fresh, Willis said he and the rest of the team’s coaching staff have already begun looking to next year. Though the United team was mostly unknown around the state before the start of this season, they are likely to deal with some high expectations in the fall.

“Next year will be a little bit different, because there will be expectations,” Willis acknowledged. “It’ll be up to the kids as to how much they develop over the summer, as to where we start next season. But we have every intention of hopefully coming out just as strong next year.”