UTICA, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Adirondack United has had a storybook season. After winning a section three title, the United set their sights on a state championship. Friday night they inched one step closer to making that goal a reality after defeating the Canton Golden Bears 4-1 in the regional semifinal punching their ticket to the state title game.

“Defensively, we did a pretty nice job of keeping them away from high-quality shots,” head coach Jeff Willis said. “I don’t think our four checks was as strong as it has been, and we’re going to have to do a much better job of that tomorrow.”

A big reason the defense prevailed tonight is because of junior goalie Ava Reynolds, who only gave up one goal in the first period but held the Golden Bears scoreless the rest of the game. She said the defense showed a lot of heart in the win. “I feel like the effort was really good defensively, and we all had really good communication altogether, and all around we, had really good coverage in front of the net, and it really helped a lot with our communication,” Reynolds said. The United will play Clinton from section three in the championship game Saturday, February 18, at 1:30 PM.