As his team weighed its chances to win a Section 1 title, Bronxville girls soccer coach Don Cupertino knew that his squad needed to do one thing in order to make the dream a reality; put the ball in the net.

Playing in the Class B title game on Saturday night, the Broncos did just that, scoring three first-half goals to stake their claim to a section championship with a decisive  4-1 victory over the Briarcliff Bears.

Ninth-grader Caitlin Paisley got the Broncos on the board nearly halfway through the first half, when she streaked down the field and beat the Bears keeper for the first tally of the game.

Paisley said that the Broncos knew they needed to get started quickly and kept that in mind as she streaked down the field put the Broncos on the board in the first half.

“It was important to get that first goal because I think it helped us settle into the game,” said Paialey. “We really wanted to get here so even though I don’t think there was pressure, we were a little nervous. But we came out and played really well.”

Cupertino said that Paisley’s goal was the result of a concerted effort by the Broncos to be more aggressive. 

“We’ve been working hard on that part of the game and we’ve been getting the opportunities all season,” said the head coach. “That’s one thing we were missing this season was that finishing aspect; our goal was to great opportunities and our second goal was to finish.”

And finish they did, as Amy Villanueva, Carson Kochansky and Kalliroi Ladas all found the net as well to give the Broncos an insurmountable cushion.

“Finally, our hard work paid off,” said Cupertino. “At least we did today, but we’ll see what happens.”

Next up for the Broncos is a Regional Semifinal bout against the Section 9 winner at Nyack High School—after press time. 

Cupertino says that he believes that the momentum from the Broncos’ recent hot streak could bode well for the team in the regional semis, but said the squad understands that every game will be a test from now on.

“If we’re playing our game, we have a lot of different people that can make plays and score some goals,” said Cupertino. “We know this is going to be a big hill to climb, but we’re going to see what we can do and hopefully we will play the best that we can.”