Hall of Fame Tournament starts soccer season in Ilion, St. Johnsville

The New York State Sportswriters and Coaches Organization for Girls Sports will induct its 2024 Soccer Hall of Fame class Saturday in conjunction with its eighth annual Hall of Fame Tournament which will be its largest yet with teams representing all parts of the state.

Based in Niskayuna where the 12-member Hall of Fame class will be honored at a Saturday afternoon ceremony, the 2024 tournament will feature 65 teams playing 66 matches over three days on 20 fields at 14 venues, including Section III Central Valley Academy in Ilion, and Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville at the western edge of Section II.

The tournament started in 2017 with Herkimer College as the base for the first two years before the event shifted east. The first tournament included 22 teams with 37 the second year and a jump to 53 the first year matches were centered around the Capital District.

Central Valley Academy and Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville play at home Friday in two of the four matches that kick off the tournament, Central Valley Academy's Thunder against Waverly from Section IV, and Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville's pack of Wolves against Cooperstown, one of nine Section III schools in addition to the Thunder participating in a tournament.

New Hartford, Sauquoit Valley, Jamesville-DeWitt, Marcellus, Westhill, Cicero-North Syracuse, Fayetteville-Manlius and West Genesee are the other Section III schools in a tournament that had been scheduled to represent all 11 of the sections in state scholastic competition for the first time before the lone entry from Section XI on Long Island withdrew; a non-NYSPHSAA school does represent that end of the island.

Nineteen teams represent Section II, including Northville, Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville's Western Athletic Conference rival, and the tournament's host school, Niskayuna, which will be the site for the ceremony Saturday afternoon inducting eight new hall of famers. Central Valley Academy is the lone competition site outside Section II.

Central Valley Academy plays Section II Lake George in the second Saturday match in St. Johnsville, following a contest between Section II Chatham and Section IV Edmeston/Morris. Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville hosts Allegany-Limestone from Section VI Sunday morning prior to a match between Westhill and Iroquois, another Section VI school.

A late scheduling change moved Central Valley Academy back closer to home for its second contest. The Thunder had originally been scheduled to play at Niskayuna on Saturday against Tamarac while Lake George's opponent in St. Johnsville had been Allegany-Limestone.

Cooperstown plays at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park Sunday against Section II Mechanicville. New Hartford plays at Columbia High School against Xaverian Saturday and Sacred Heart Sunday; both opponents are from Long Island.

Sauquoit Valley plays matches at Stillwater High School against Bronxville Saturday and Hoosic Valley Sunday.Rye, the reigning state champion in Class A, and 2023 co-Class C champions Mount Academy and Waterford-Halfmoon are among the teams scheduled to participate. Waterford-Halfmoon and Mount Academy were state champions in classes C and D, respectively, in 2022. Mount Academy also won in 2021 when New Hartford was the Class A champion.

There is no charge for admission at any of the tournament sites. The class of inductees for Saturday's 3:15 p.m. ceremony includes eight players and four coaches and contributors.

Friday, September 6

• Cooperstown at Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville, 4:15 p.m.
• Fayetteville-Manlius at Niskayuna HS, 5:15 p.m.
• Mechanicville vs. Mount Academy at Shaker HS, 5:25 p.m.
• Waverly at Central Valley Academy, 7 p.m.

Saturday, September 7

• Chatham vs. Edmeston/Morris at Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville HS, 9:15 a.m.
• Plattsburgh at Queensbury, 9:30 a.m.
• Jamesville-DeWitt at Glens Falls, 9:45 a.m.
• Long Island-Sacred Heart at Columbia, 10:05 a.m.
• Albertus Magnus at Shenendehowa, 10:15 a.m.
• Amsterdam vs. Hoosic Valley at Waterford-Halfmoon HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Beekmantown vs. Schuylerville at Shenendehowa HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Guilderland vs. MacArthur at Niskayuna HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Highland Falls-O'Neill at Stillwater, 10:15 a.m.
• Lancaster-St. Mary's vs. Marcellus at Niskayuna HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Northville vs. York at Shaker HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Poughkeepsie-Our Lady of Lourdes at Scotia-Glenville HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Tamarac vs. Allegany-Limestone at Niskayuna HS, 10:15 a.m.
• West Genesee at Shaker, 10:15 a.m.
• Central Valley Academy vs. Lake George at Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville HS, 11:15 a.m.
• Cicero-North Syracuse at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, 11:15 a.m.
• Northeastern Clinton vs. Iroquois at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake HS, 11:15 a.m.
• Lisbon vs. Gloversville at Queensbury HS, 11:30 a.m.
• South Glens Falls vs. Staten Island-Notre Dame Academy at Glens Falls HS, 11:45 a.m.
• Greenwich at Voorheesville, noon
• New Hartford vs. Xaverian at Columbia HS, 12:05 p.m.
• Buffalo-Nardin vs. Garden City at Shenendehowa HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Buffalo-Nichols vs. Bethlehem at Niskayuna HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Clarence vs. Brooklyn Tech at Niskayuna HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Massapequa vs. Monroe-Woodbury at Shaker HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Rye vs. Fayetteville-Manlius at Scotia-Glenville HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Long Island-St. Anthony's at Niskayuna, 12:15 p.m.
• Saranac at Waterford-Halfmoon, 12:15 p.m.
• Sauquoit Valley vs. Bronxville at Stillwater HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Waverly vs. St. Lawrence at Shaker HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Westhill vs. Washingtonville at Shenendehowa HS, 12:15 p.m.

Sunday, September 8

• Rye vs. Monroe-Woodbury at Niskayuna HS, 9:15 a.m.
• Xaverian at Columbia, 10:05 a.m.
• Allegany-Limestone at Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville, 10:15 a.m.
• Bronxville at Stillwater, 10:15 a.m.
• Brooklyn Tech at Shenendehowa, 10:15 a.m.
• Gloversville vs. St. Lawrence at Bethlehem HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Massapequa vs. West Genesee at Shaker HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Northville vs. Lisbon at Waterford-Halfmoon HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Poughkeepsie-Our Lady of Lourdes vs. Buffalo-Nichols at Shenendehowa HS, 10:15 a.m.
• South Glens Falls vs. Highland Falls-O'Neill at Glens Falls HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Washingtonville vs. Marcellus at Niskayuna HS, 10:15 a.m.
• Beekmantown at Queensbury, 10:30 a.m.
• Schuylerville vs. Saranac at Waterford-Halfmoon HS, 10:45 a.m.
• York vs. Lake George at Shaker HS, 10:45 p.m.
• Clarence vs. MacArthur at Niskayuna HS, 11:15 a.m.
• Lancaster-St. Mary's vs. Tamarac at Niskayuna HS, 11:45 a.m.
• Edmeston/Morris at Voorheesville, noon
• New Hartford vs. Long Island-Sacred Heart at Columbia HS, 12:05 p.m.
• Albertus Magnus vs. Cicero-North Syracuse at Shenendehowa HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake vs. Buffalo-Nardin at Niskayuna HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Cooperstown vs. Mechanicville at Shenendehowa HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Greenwich vs. Northeastern Clinton at Waterford-Halfmoon HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Hoosic Valley vs. Sauquoit Valley at Stillwater HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Jamesville-DeWitt at Bethlehem, 12:15 p.m.
• Long Island-St. Anthony's at Shaker, 12:15 p.m.
• Staten Island-Notre Dame Academy at Glens Falls, 12:15 p.m.
• Westhill vs. Iroquois at Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville HS, 12:15 p.m.
• Plattsburgh vs. Amsterdam at Queensbury HS, 12:30 p.m.
• Mount Academy at Waterford-Halfmoon, 12:45 p.m.
• Scotia-Glenville vs. Chatham at Shaker HS, 12:45 p.m.
• Guilderland vs. Garden City at Niskayuna HS, 1:15 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Hall of Fame Tournament starts soccer season in Ilion, St. Johnsville