Cincinnatus girls soccer again unstoppable in Class D state run: ‘We don’t let anything get in our way’ (67 photos)

Homer, N.Y. — The tears that trickled down the face of Cincinnatus girls soccer defender Payton Gerrard Sunday morning were in danger of freezing before they reached mid-cheek.

They partly fell as a product of the bitter cold at Homer High School, where her team had just beaten Section VII’s Chazy 1-0 in the state Class D title game.

But emotion was the real source of the waterworks. Gerrard, a senior, was trying to explain what made the Lions almost unbeatable the last four seasons.

“Hold on. I can do this,” Gerrard said before taking a break to compose herself. “We all love each other. We play for each other. Our community has our back. We never give up on each other, and we just play as a team.”

And ultimately, they played as champions.

The Lions held up a banner yet again courtesy of Jelsie Stafford‘s first-half goal, which stood up as the game-winner in a decision that wasn’t nearly as close as the score would suggest.

The Lions put a bow on a 20-2 season and added a state title to the one it won in 2023. Cincinnatus was also state runner-up in 2022, and since that season has compiled an overall mark of 83-4-2.

Last season, moving up to Class C because of increased enrollment, the Lions lost their only contest of the year in the state semis.

Now, Cincinnatus is back where it belongs, both in class and stature.

“We’re not just a team. We’re a family,” Stafford said. “We hang out all the time. We’re friends outside of soccer. How do I put this? We don’t dislike each other. We genuinely enjoy each other, and we just have fun.”

Or, as Gerard explained: “We don’t let anything get in our way.”

The Lions’ ease in basking in the big moments was evident in the pregame introductions, when all of the starters were lined up at midfield. As each individual was announced, she took a step in front of the line and dropped a quick dance step.

Gerard said the routine started before the Section III title game.

“We decided, let’s go hit a dance move,” Gerrard said. “And in the past state tournaments, we’ve created our own dance move, but the whole team does the same dance move. But this year, we wanted to be different and pull out our own moves. We just wanted to get in the game and have fun.”

But first, the Lions had to defrost.

Much of the game was played in a hard wind and horizontal snow, with only very brief breaks of clearing. That was no problem for Cincinnatus coach Lisa Sustad, who insisted to her players they were heading to a day at the beach.

The level of buy-in to that psychological ploy was mixed, at best.

“No. Maybe,” Gerard said. “Maybe the snow is sand or something.”

Sustad, however, was also a realist.

“I just told them that it’s going to be brutal out there,” she said. “They’re soldiers. They can do this. They’re strong. We’re not raising them weak. Stuff like that. Get out there and run.”

Great teams need a bit of luck mixed in with their magic. Stafford got just that with 23:16 left in the first half.

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Lining up a corner kick from the right side of the field, Stafford sent a hard offering that ticked off a Chazy defender and into the lower left side of the net.

“I don’t really know what happened. I hit it and I was hoping that it hit off someone because with this weather, you can never know. Just trust your gut and hit it, I guess,” she said.

Cincinnatus controlled the ball in the Chazy side of the field for much of the game. Eagles coach John Tregan knew what was coming but didn’t have the personnel to disrupt it and mount much of a counter-attack.

“We kind of knew we would have to defend in big numbers today. And they’re really skilled and they’re going to have tons of possession,“ he said. ”We defended well all year. They have some really great players in the middle of the field and they’re just solid all over, big, strong kids. Honestly, I would have signed up for this result because they’re a great team, they’re a better team, they deserve to win today."

A Cincinnatus defense that allowed just nine goals in 22 games this season vacuumed up any stray Eagles chances. Gerard and Makayla Mills were the standout defensive stoppers.

“Our defense, all of them, are very strong and they work so well together,” Sustad said. “Mikayla back there, she is what gets them pumped and gets them going in the right direction. And they are really just working well together.”

That glue could easily lead to another title next season. Mills and Stafford return, as do Payton Landers (28-11), Kendall Sustad (21-4) and Jocelyn Turshman (25-17).

“Well, we’re going to miss the girls that are leaving, but we have a lot of girls (returning), and we’re going to be strong next year,” Stafford said. “I don’t know if we’re going to be as strong, but we are sure going to try to get here again.”