Scotty Lynch threw a throw-in into the box from the clouds, Cruz Goverski went up and collected it and Rece Dyer scored “the easiest goal of my life.”

Her heel kick from just outside the goal line gave Mechanicville a 1-0 lead, and the team beat Northeastern Clinton 2-0 in the NYSPHSAA Class B subregionals at high school in Bethlehem.

Mechanicville (18-0-2), the No. 4 ranked Class B team in the state, advances to the regional final against Westhill Saturday at 2 p.m. at Waterford-Halfmoon High School.

The senior team had just won their third straight Section 2 championship and has so much tournament history that head coach Mike Ciulla finds himself encouraging them to move forward and celebrate a victory like Monday’s .

“The majority of these seniors were JV call-ups when we lost to Greenville four years ago,” Ciulla said. “Then we won. And then we won. So they went to the show. It almost gets to the point where, at the end of these games, you almost have to exaggerate them to excite them. We hope to be here. It’s not easy, but we hope to be at that level.

“Right now we would usually be mad, but we’ve been there, so we’re not as excited as we would be if we were in the States,” Dyer said.

Mechanicville got on the board in the 12th minute after a long throw-in from Lynch.

He sent it into the box and Goverski made first contact with the ball with a header while battling with Northeastern Clinton goalkeeper Maxx Rabideau.

The ball immediately ricocheted off the goalie to Goverski, who took a short shot that was stopped by a Cougars defender, but spread to Dyer for an uncontested shot just in front of the goal line.

“It’s just a secret weapon,” Goverski said. “No one is going to expect a 40-yard throw from Scotty, and it’s just perfect. I go up aggressively and see what I can do, either a short shot or a target. I kept fighting for it, and Rece was there to score a little fancy goal. It was perfect.

“He throws the ball,” Ciulla said. “This happened to us two years ago in the United States. This kid from Skaneateles took a flip throw and threw it 40 yards. Now we have a child who can throw it in the box, and a lot of things can happen there.

“A lot of it is just throwing it, and Cruz can jump clouds, and it’s about going up and winning and seeing what happens when it comes to the mat. Those are cleanup goals.

“It happened in front of me and I hit it. It was the easiest goal of my life,” Dyer said. “Cruz stayed with it the whole time and brought it to me. It all depends on him. This goal is all his.

Mechanicville took a 2-0 lead with 18:49 left in the second half on Declan Charette’s powerful, low shot from the middle of the box that sailed inside the left post.

Mechanicville’s next step is to reach the final four for a chance at a state championship.

“We’ve been in this situation, relying on each other and playing for each other,” Goverski said. “That’s what sets us apart from the rest.”

“I saw it in their eyes,” Ciulla said. “Last match. This game. They are not going to lose. Scotty is a player, Cruz is a player. They won’t let that happen, because they will give everything they can.”