On Saturday, the head referee of the Class C Far West Regional called a handball infraction against Frewsburg inside the 18-yard box.

Bears head coach Scott Stone saw it differently.

Byron-Bergen head coach Wayne Hill selected Ava Gray to take the penalty kick.

And the Bees’ freshman defender converted what turned out to be the game-winning goal, sending the Section V champions to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Final Four with a 1-0 victory over the Bears at Caledonia-Mumford High School’s Hamilton Field.

Frewsburg’s Reagan Chitester connects with a header off of a corner kick during the second half. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“I felt like we played great. We were all over them. I don’t want to blame it all on one call,” Stone said. ” … You have to score goals. We didn’t score goals. We hit three posts. We had plenty of chances, we just couldn’t get it done today. Sometimes life isn’t fair.”

Byron-Bergen will take on Section VIII Carle Place, which beat Section IX SS Seward 7-2 in Saturday’s quarterfinal at Newburgh Free Academy.

“It’s right on target for what we expected,” Hill said. ” … What comes up through the system has been quality. I’m not surprised they can step on this field and play like that.”

For Frewsburg, 11 seniors saw their careers come to an end with the Bears in the midst of a string of three straight Section VI championships, but just two Far West Regional losses to show for it.

“We’ve worked our butts off for eight years to put ourselves in this position,” Stone said. “As we make the walk across the field, we know that we did everything we could possibly do.”

Frewsburg’s Jacey Cappa, left, shields Byron-Bergen’s Kendall Phillips away from the ball during Saturday’s Class C Far West Regional at Caledonia-Mumford’s Hamilton Field. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The Bees were the aggressors early Saturday, forcing Bears senior keeper Cadence Rodgers to make a right-footed save in the 16th minute. Frewsburg then had to survive three straight Byron-Bergen corner kicks in the 29th minute before the game turned just over a minute later.

The Bees dribbled a ball inside the Frewsburg 6-yard box that was cleared to the top of the 18-yard box. A Byron-Bergen player pounced on the bouncing ball and one-timed a shot toward the Bears’ goal that was blocked by senior Reagan Chitester. The referee deemed the ball made contact with her hand and awarded Byron-Bergen a penalty kick.

“My senior captain came over to the sideline with a ball imprint on her stomach,” Stone said. ” … For us to go out after giving up one goal in 20 games, to go out on a PK when it truly wasn’t a PK, it stings bad.”

Hill then turned to his freshman defender with five goals on the season — one via penalty kick — and she sent a shot into the high corner of the net that glanced off Rodgers’ hand and the crossbar before falling into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

“She’s the best one we have on the team,” Hill said. “She’s taken them all year.”

Eighth-grader Mia Gray, the Bees’ leading scorer on the season, was held off the scoresheet but made an impact in other areas of the game, including working back to help her defense whenever possible.

“She’s something. … I don’t think she had a shot in the game, but her presence was still out there,” Hill said. ” … At the end of the day, she’s just a baller.”

With just over three minutes left in the opening half, senior Tyra Clark — Frewsburg’s second-leading scorer — had her best chance of the day when she broke down the left side of the Bears’ offense and took a left-footed shot inside the 18-yard box that glanced off the outside of the goal post.

As it has been all season — especially in the postseason — Frewsburg utilized its depth to play well in the second half.

“We’ve played so much soccer over the last couple of years. We’ve put ourselves in every single possible position,” Stone said. “We never gave up. We never wavered. We felt like we were going to win until the clock hit zero.”

With 37:30 remaining, junior Alexandra Hultberg sent a free kick toward Byron-Bergen goalkeeper Brooke Jarkiewicz and the shot was mishandled, but senior Kendal Sohl hit the rebound off the goal post and out of bounds.

In the 50th minute, senior Makenna McBride found herself open for a shot at the top of the 18-yard box, but hit a low roller right at Jarkiewicz, who made one of her 10 saves on the afternoon.

“You have to give everything you have and, geez, Frewsburg did,” Hill said. “They are a quality team. You don’t come here at this point in the season and not be a quality team.”

With just over 18 minutes remaining, Ava Gray left with an injury, leaving the Bees without one of their top defenders.

“We lost Kenzie (Hagen) at the end of the first half so that took away a lot of speed and then Ava at the end,” Hill said. “It got us a little unraveled.”

Frewsburg was rewarded for its pressure with several corner kicks in the final five minutes, but could not convert a tying goal.

As McBride rolled a close chance wide in the final seconds, Byron-Bergen watched the clock run out and celebrated.

The Bears, on the other hand, will return nine varsity players next season, including Hultberg, their leading scorer and the 2020 Post-Journal Player of the Year.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Stone said. “Mark my words, we’ll be back here again next year.”