Monroe holds off Pine Bush to win state tourney berth
Wallkill. The 3-2 victory places the team in the state soccer championships where they will face Sec. I champs, North Rockland.
| 04 Nov 2025 | 02:32
M-W’s Alyssa Zollo scored the game winning goal in the second half against Pine Bush. (
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The 2025 Sec. IX Class AAA Soccer Champions: The Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders.
On Saturday, Nov. 1, the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders traveled to Wallkill High School to face the Pine Bush Bushmen for the Sec. IX AAA championship. Last year, the Bushmen ended the Crusaders season when they handed them a tough 1-0 defeat to take the title.
The top-seeded Crusaders came into the game with a 14-2 record on the season and were undefeated in league play. The Bushmen had a 15-2 record on the season with their only losses coming at the hands of the Crusaders.
M-W took an early lead on a Pine Bush mistake. After a scramble down by the Bushmen’s goal, Alyssa Zollo’s cross got put into the Bushmen’s goal by one of their defenders and the Crusaders had a 1-0 lead. As the half approached, the Bushmen pushed the play into the Crusaders end and got off several good shots, but Crusader goalie Tea Proia rose to the occasion and came up with some big saves to keep them off the board.
Just seconds into the second half, the Bushmen were able to split the Crusader defense and score the tying goal on a breakaway. About half way through the second half, Kate Allen threaded a nice through ball to Zollo, who was then able to direct it past a diving goalie to give the Crusaders a 2-1 lead.
The Bushmen tied the score back up again with another goal with 11:29 left in the game, keeping the two top teams in the division battling for the Sec IX championship with time running out.
With 9:50 left in the game, Zollo got off a shot from outside the top of the box. The shot went off the post then across the goal mouth and past the diving goalie before pinging off the other post and into the net. The Crusaders were then able hold the Bushmen off the board the rest of the game to take back the Section 9 AAA Title.
The Crusaders 3-2 victory put them into the opening round of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) state soccer playoffs. They will play the Sec. I champion North Rockland Raiders on Nov. 5 at Wallkill High School.