Catholic Central's Brett Fenton leaps over La Salle goalkeeper Alex Pakatar during Tuesday's Big 10 Conference soccer game at Sutton Field. (Photos by Mike McMahon - The Record).
TROY — Catholic Central High School goalkeeper Charlie Farrell and his counterpart from La Salle Institute, Alex Pakatar, tried their best to make Tuesday’s Big 10 Conference boys soccer game a scoreless draw. But with 3:20 to play in the second half, Justin O’Brien figured that a little bit of offense couldn’t hurt.
O’Brien, a freshman on the Catholic Central team, rushed the net with teammate Zac Ethier and O’Brien headed the ball between Pakatar and the post for the game’s first goal with 200 seconds to spare. Farrell made 14 saves – including a penalty kick shot by La Salle’s Andrew Worgan with 30:25 remaining in the second half – to preserve the 1-0 victory on Sutton Field.
“It was all luck,”
O’Brien shrugged after the game. “I just turned it up there and hit it and it went in.”
“Giacomo Giglio set a great ball up at the top and I think I missed it, but thank God he (O’Brien) was there,”
Ethier said. “He put it right in.”
Catholic Central junior midfielder Zac Ethier looks to move the ball upfield during Tuesday's game at La Salle.
Catholic Central (2-1-0, 2-3-0) certainly leaned on Farrell in the first half, as the Crusaders’ offense did not really warm up until the final few minutes before halftime.
The Cadets put a flurry of shots on net in the game’s 13th minute, but Farrell stood his ground. Later in the half, La Salle’s Matt Baker swooped in, made a steal when a Crusader defender whiffed on a clearing pass, but Baker’s shot sailed high of the net.
La Salle senior captain and forward Andrew Worgan chases the ball during Tuesday's game against Catholic High.
La Salle (1-3-0, 2-4-0) received 13 saves from their junior keeper, Pakatar.
Aside from O’Brien’s late heroics, Farrell was the biggest star of the night for Catholic High, standing on his head to keep the Crusaders in the game. Even with a lead in the waning seconds, Farrell wasn’t ready to chalk it up as a win just yet.
Catholic Central's Dom Iachetta (11) and La Salle's Matt Baker leap to head a loose ball during Tuesday's Big 10 soccer game.
“The biggest thing is, you don’t want to be like 20 seconds left on the clock and see one go in,”
said Farrell, a junior. “That’s the worst. You just have to keep helping your team and keep playing as hard as you can.”
Catholic Central had a number of solid scoring chances in the second half, but few were on net. The Crusaders sent a pair of shots toward Pakatar in the first few minutes of the half, but both shots sailed high and wide of the right of the net. Giglio narrowly missed punching a goal in the top right corner of the net on a free kick from 40 yards out with 16 minutes remaining.
La Salle's Matt Connolly looks to move around Catholic Central defender Tyler Hickey during Tuesday's game on Sutton Field.
“La Salle is the biggest game of the year and it’s their homecoming. We just try to come in and play hard,”
Farrell said.
Troy High is currently tied atop the Big 10 standings with Albany High, but this game meant a great deal to the Collar City’s private schools in the conference, both of which were looking to state their case for postseason legitimacy.
“We’ll definitely be playing harder the rest of the season,”
Ethier said after the emotional victory.
“The season starts now,”
added Farrell.
La Salle was also looking to make a statement Tuesday evening, but head coach Art Pakatar is hopeful his young team, which starts three freshmen and features just four seniors, can recharge emotionally for the rest of the regular season.
La Salle's Ryan Tremblay heads the ball as a pair of players look on during Tuesday's Big 10 soccer game at La Salle.
“We just tell them it’s part of the process,”
he said. “That’s a game that could have gone either way. It’s one more step toward where we need to be. We’re a very young team.
“This was important for us for momentum to start building our case,”
Pakatar continued. “And it was very important for Catholic High to push them up in the pack.”
CATHOLIC CENTRAL 1, LA SALLE 0
CCHS (2-1-0, 2-3-0) 0 1 — 1
La Salle (1-3-0, 2-4-0) 0 0 — 0
Scoring: CCHS: O’Brien 1-0.
Goalkeepers: CCHS: Farrell, 14. LSI: Pakatar, 13.
Corner kicks: CCHS, 3. LSI, 2.
Catholic Central senior Sydne Rebne stops to change directions as La Salle's Kyle Reilly defends.
Tuesday's local roundup:
ALBANY — C.J. Sousis turned in a record-setting performance on Tuesday afternoon.
The Lansingburgh High senior finished the 2.66-mile course in 16:15 to set the new mark on the Albany Academy cross country course at Holy Names.
The Knights defeated Schalmont, 21-34, but came up short against the host Cadets, 23-36.
Albany Academy placed five runners in the Top 10 to earn both victories in the Colonial Council tri-meet.
Lansingburgh’s Albert Scardera placed fourth in 17:12.
Cobleskill 25, Cohoes 33: Johnny SotoMaya won the race for the Tigers in 14:16 and Mike Muzio was third in 14:47 for Cohoes (0-1). Cobleskill’s Johnny Decesare came in second in a time of 14:47.
Ravena 15, Watervliet inc.: Mike Morrow took home the title in 14:33 at the 2.55-mile course at Ravena.
Ichabod Crane 19, Voorheesville 43: The Riders bested the Blackbirds in a Colonial Council meeting.
La Salle sweeps in Big 10: Eamonn Coughlin finished first in 16:42, Evan Little came in second in 16:14 and Alex Isabelle was third in 18:08 to lead the Cadets to Big 10 victories over CBA and host Troy High over a three-mile course.
La Salle defeated CBA, 18-40 and both the Cadets and CBA bested an incomplete Troy squad.
Shenendehowa sweeps in Suburban: Ian Dorsett captured first place in 14:56.80 to pace the Plainsmen to Suburban Council victories over Niskayuna and host Averill Park over a 2.75-mile course.
Shen defeated Niskayuna, 21-40, and Averill Park, 15-39. Marshall Pagano (15:00.93) finished second overall as Nisky downed Averill Park, 17-42.
Amsterdam wins Big 10 meet: Jon Nelson finished first in 14:38 to pace the host Rams to Big 10 triumphs over Catholic Central and Schenectady over a 2.6-mile course.
Chris Herbs (14:41) took second place to lead the Crusaders past Schenectady, 26-30. Amsterdam topped Catholic Central, 20-37 and Schenectady, 17-38.
Bishop Gibbons wins pair: Matt Lange (15:40), Jason Lange (15:40) and Jordan Pantalone (15:41) finished 1-2-3 as the Knights recorded Big 10 wins over Albany High and Bishop Maginn over Washington Park’s 2.84-mile course.
Gibbons defeated Albany, 21-38, and Bishop Maginn, 17-44; while Albany topped Maginn, 20-41.
Berlin 26, Schuylerville 29; Berlin 16, Stillwater 46; Schuylerville 15, Hoosic Valley 50; Stillwater 14, Hoosic Valley 50: Tucker Hampson from Schuylerville finished the 2.8-mile course in 16:08 to take home top honors, while the Berlin boys’ team took home two wins.
Girls Cross Country
Shenendehowa sweeps Suburban meet: Lizzie Predmore won comfortably in 16:48 as the Plainsmen took the top four spots en route to recording Suburban Council victories over Niskayuna and host Averill Park over a 2.75-mile layout.
Shen out distanced Averill Park, 17-40 and Niskayuna, 15-44. Emily Tucci (17:48) finished in fifth for Averill Park, which downed Nisky, 22-35.
Amsterdam takes two: Rebekah Johnson took first place in 16:52 to pace the host Rams to Big 10 victories over Catholic Central and Schenectady over a 2.6-mile course.
Caroline Couser (17:54) and Megan Jenney (18:38) finished second and fourth respectively to lead the Crusaders to a 19-36 decision over Schenectady.
Amsterdam bested Catholic Central, 26-31 and Schenectady, 20-39.
Bishop Gibbons sweeps: Talya Williams (19:25.9) and Angelique Cain (19:53.7) finished 1-2 to pace the Knights to Big 10 victories Albany High and Bishop Maginn in a 2.84-mile layout in Washington Park.
Gibbons defeated Albany, 20-35 and an incomplete Bishop Maginn team.
Alexa Pettit finished third overall for the Falcons, who defeated Maginn.
Cobleskill 19, Cohoes 39: Cobleskill (1-0) captured the top three spots led by Larissa Melendez won the 2.55 mile race at Cohoes (0-1) in a time of 16:32. Marissa Hitchcock was second in 16:53 and Michelle Eckler was third in 17:09. Jessica Ayotte, 17:15 and Lydia Dawes, 17:43 rounded out the top five for Cohoes.
Ravena 15, Watervliet inc.: Alaina Krueger finished the 2.55-mile course in 18:36 to pace the Indians in a Colonial dual meet.
Voorheesville 16, Ichabod Crane 45: The Blackbirds swept the top four spots led by Michelyn Little (20:17), Sawyer Cresap (20:49), Jolie Siegel (20:53) and Casey Morrison (21:53).
Berlin 15, Schuylerville 50; Hoosic Valley 15, Schuylerville 50; Stillwater 22, Berlin 33; Stillwater 24, Hoosic Valley 32: Samantha Watson of Schuylerville took home the victory in 16:43 on the 2.8 mile course at Stillwater. The Stillwater girls’ team was tops on this day.
Girls Soccer
Hoosic Valley 3, Stillwater 2: Molly Gilchrist tallied a hat trick to lead the Indians (3-1, 5-0). Brooke Ferrell and Rebecca Wichelns paced Stillwater (1-2-1, 1-2-2) with one goal apiece.
Troy 6, Amsterdam 0: Morgan Avery scored twice and Lissi Vink-Lainis, Helen Dufel, Bianca Jordan and Ashley Bellerose added single goals to lead the Flying Horses (1-2, 4-3) to a Big 10 win.
Saratoga 2, Bethlehem 0: Julia Sirianni and Cassidy Driscoll each scored a second half goal to give the Blue Streaks the Suburban Council victory and handed the Lady Eagles their first home loss since September of 2005. Liz Rogan made eight saves to preserve the shutout.
Shenendehowa 3, Averill Park 0: Kristen Connors netted two goals and Ali Lewis had the other to lead the Plainsmen to a victory at Averill Park. Heather Vale had 19 saves in net for the Warriors.
Maple Hill 7, Greenville 3: Meeghan Arno tallied five goals and Taylor Czajkowski added two to lead the Wildcats (4-0-0, 4-0-0) to a Patroon Conference win.
Emma Willard 4, Germantown 0: Hannah Wilcox tallied two scores and Olivia Gundrum and Claire Karle added a goal each to pace Emma Willard (3-0, 3-1) to victory.
Chatham 3, Taconic Hills 0: Caitlin Nieto registered two goals for Chatham in a Patroon victory.
Boys Soccer
Mechanicville 5, Lansingburgh 0: Sam DeCelle scored three goals and Mark Gaetano and Chris McNall added a goal each for the Red Raiders in a Colonial Council win over the Knights (2-3, 2-4).
Ichabod Crane 3, Cohoes 1: The Riders got two goals from Mitchell Niemeyer and one from Bernie Watt in a Colonial Council victory. Brandon Laforest had the Tigers lone goal.
Waterford 5, Loudonville Christian 0: The Fordians (4-0-0, 5-1-0) were led by Connor Noel’s goal and two assists. David Fletcher, Dylan Gardner and DJ Lee, Zac Lennon added goals for Waterford in a Colonial win.
Burnt Hills 4, Columbia 1: Tim Hughes scored three goals and dished out an assist to lead the Spartans to victory in the Colonial Council.
Matt Koneczny scored on an assist from Tanner Leonard for the lone Blue Devils goal.
Niskayuna 1, Colonie 0 (2 OT): Andrew Downey scored four minutes into the second overtime on a goal assisted by Tanner MacIvor to give the Silver Warriors a Suburban Council win. Yaw Agyie, Mossimo Smiroldo and Tommy Ossipitan spearheaded the Garnet Raiders defense.
Glens Falls 3, Queensbury 0: Aaron Kanofsky put the Indians (1-2-1, 3-2-0) on the board early en route to a league victory.
Golf
Bishop Gibbons 168, Troy 169: Alex DeMarco shot a 39 to pace Gibbons (4-5) in a Big 10 win at Stadium Golf Course in Schenectady. Blaise Kearns and Adam Murray both shot a 41 for Troy (3-6).
Hoosic Valley 3.5, Cambridge 2.5: The Indians improved to 9-3 behind Kevin White, who shot a 38 in a Wasaren match at Windy Hills Country Club. Chris Crucette paced Cambridge (2-10) with a 39.
Shenendehowa 234, Averill Park 271: Ryan Simpson fired a 31 and Louis Walsh shot a 35 to pace the Plainsmen to a Suburban victory. Jimmy Sullivan medaled with a 35 for the Warriors.
Girls Tennis
Maple Hill 6, Chatham 0: Erin Duffy defeated Haley Knight in three sets at first singles (2-6, 6-4, 6-2) to lead the Wildcats (6-0, 7-1) to a Patroon Conference win.
Ichabod Crane 7, Schalmont 0: Emily Qua won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles for the Riders and Sarah Murphy won a second set tiebreaker and then the third set at No. 3 singles in the sweep of the Colonial Council match.
Averill Park 7, Amsterdam 2: The Warriors (2-4) lost only one singles match and one doubles match in the victory. Morgan McEvilly survived at first singles in three sets (6-7, 6-1, 6-3) in a non-league meeting.
Hudson Falls 4, Greenwich 3: The Witches won singles 3-2 with match wins by Valentine Collet, Tina Boyce and Michelle Pellington. The Tigers swept doubles 2-0 for the game win.
Shaker 7, Guilderland 2: Cat Crummey out lasted Gabby Peda at first singles (6-4, 6-4) to pace the Blue Bison to victory in a Suburban Council match on Tuesday.
Girls Volleyball
Maple Hill 3, Cairo Durham 0: The Wildcats won the Patroon Conference match with scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-11.
Chatham 3, Rensselaer 0: Chatham won a Patroon Conference match with scores of 25-14, 25-22 and 25-22.
Holy Names 3, Ichabod Crane 1: Alex Walton led Holy Names (3-1) to a Colonial Council win with eight service points, four aces and two kills. Cristin Neff added 15 service points, 10 aces and three blocks. Monica Hall chipped in with seven service points and 17 kills for the Riders (3-2).
Fonda 3, Schalmont 0: Bri Derby totaled six aces, 16 service points and 11 assists to spark the Braves to victory in the Colonial Council, 25-21, 25-21 and 25-14. Emily Matuszak registered five aces and 15 service points for the Sabres.
Loudonville Christian 3, Lake George 1: Hattie Burgher contributed 17 kills and 36 digs and Chelsea Brown totaled eight kills and 25 digs as the Eagles won a non-league match, 25-14, 23-25, 25-12 and 25-15.
Boys Volleyball
Burnt Hills 3, Colonie 0: Jordan Armstrong totaled 20 assists and five blocks to spark the Spartans to a Suburban Council victory, 25-19, 25-21 and 25-17. Kyle Mcpadden paced the Garnet Raiders with 13 assists.
From Monday
Girls Soccer
Emma Willard 7, Rensselaer 1: Lindsay Pattison scored three goals and Sarah Bower added two for Emma Willard. Emily Kopaskie netted the Rams lone goal and Marissa Mendetta registered 17 saves in net.
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Labels: Big 10, Boys Soccer, Catholic Central, La Salle, Local Roundup, Video
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