The Greene varsity boys soccer team at Wright National Soccer Campus following its Section IV Class C championship victory over Lansing on Saturday afternoon. It was Greene's first Section IV title in 30 years. The full story is in today's sports report. (Submitted Photo)

ONEONTA - After three decades of heart-breaking playoff losses, Greene ascended to the top of Section IV by beating one of Section IV's preeminent powers.

Down two goals early in the Class C title game, the Trojans (16-2) rebounded by halftime, played to a deadlock after regulation, and then scored the golden goal to beat Lansing, 4-3, Saturday at Oneonta's Wright National Soccer Campus.

The sectional championship victory was the first for the Trojans since 1991.

  During that 30-year interim, the Trojans have had numerous deep playoff runs that ended with tight losses.  Most recently, Greene lost back-to-back overtime finals in the sectional semifinals to Trumansburg in 2018 and 2019.

"It absolutely does feel sweet," said Greene head coach Rick Tallman. "Lansing is a powerhouse program, and deserves every accolade they get. They're a machine over there. For little ol' Greene to accomplish this feat after all the hard years of work, it feels real nice."

It looked to be Lansing's day early on.

Ben Petrich scored for the Bobcats in the 22nd minute, and just three minutes later, Lansing made it a 2-0 lead.

Heading into the final five minutes of the first half, Greene broke the ice when captain Trenton Rapp headed in a cornerkick from Liam Flanagan.

With just under a minute left in the half, Terriek Brown tied the game for Greene with a fine individual effort.

"That (coming back), to me, was the most impressive part (of the game)," Tallman said. "The boys never lost their will. Once Trent netted the header off the corner to go 2-1, you could feel the desire among the team."

Greene took its first lead of the game in the 64th minute, when,  Scout McCumiskey tallied off a crossing pass from Brown.

Just 36 seconds later, Lansing found the equalizer that would force the overtime minutes.

Both clubs had their opportunities in the extra period, Tallman said, but it was the Trojans that found the game-winner.

Cooper Klumpp scored unassisted with 4:19 left in the opening overtime to send the Trojans on to the state playoffs.

Just two weeks earlier, Greene was in position to capture another Midstate Athletic Conference championship, but was stunned by Bainbridge-Guilford.

That defeat, Tallman said, probably served as necessary motivation for the deep playoff run.

"It was nice we didn't get it," Tallman said of the MAC title. "It woke the players up, and it gave us the kick we needed to turn things around. It helped us understand the way we needed to play. We made a few adjustments, and that (loss) was exactly what we needed to get to where we are now."

Greene will face the Section III champion on Saturday at Wright National Soccer Campus.

Score by half

Lans  2  1  0--3

Gre.  2  1  1--4

Goals-assists:  (L) Ben Petrich 1-0, C. Watts 1-0,  T. Coates 1-0. (G)  Terriek Brown 1-2, Trenton Rapp 1-0, Scout McCumiskey 1-0, Cooper Klumpp 1-0, Liam Flanagan 0-1.

Shots-cornerkicks: (L) 11-4, (G) 18-11

Saves:  (L) 9, (G) Jesse Ledford 8.

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