|
Falcons' season ends in tough 1-0
semifinal loss
 The
season nearly a quarter-century in the making came to a heart-breaking
end for Albany High's boys' soccer team Nov. 1 with a tough 1-0
loss to Niskayuna in the Section II Class AA semifinals.
After knocking off two Suburban Council
opponents to reach the semis for the first time
Joe Sainato (21) and Ben Coco (7)
put pressure on Niskayuna
since 1983, the Fal-
during the Class AA semifinals (click on the photo for a larger
cons took another
version).
Suburban power down
to the wire before falling. The Silver Warriors scored with under 14
minutes remaining, and Albany narrowly missed on several good scoring
chances in the waning minutes.
Check out the game coverage in the Nov. 2 Times Union.
The Falcons (14-6-1) were followed by a
large and enthusiastic crowd of supporters, who saluted the team with a
standing ovation following the game.
Niskayuna went on to win the Class AA title and advance to the state
semifinals.
Albany advanced to the semis with thrilling
overtime wins at Bleecker Stadium over Saratoga Springs -- the first Big
10 playoff victory since 2002 -- and Colonie, which sent a Big 10 team
to the big-school semifinals for the first time in 24 years. Both
dramatic wins touched off jubilant on-field celebrations with the
Falcons' fans.
 Facing powerful Colonie in the quarterfinals
Oct. 29, Albany outlasted the visitors 7-6 in penalty kicks after the
teams competed to a scoreless tie through regulation and four overtime
periods. A converted
penalty kick by Owen Daniels and a diving save by keeper Rory Murphy lifted Albany to
the win and sent a Big 10 team to the
semis
First-year coach Dave Weiss, left, addresses his team
for the first time since
before ractice Oct. 31 as the Falcons prepared for ther first
Albany's 2-1 overtime
trip to the Section II semifinals since 1983.
loss to Niskayuna
in
1983.
Check out coverage of the Falcons' success in the Sports section of the
Nov. 1 Times Union.
"It's a wonderful story," said Don Prozak, who
coached the Falcons from 1974-90 and led the 1983 team to an 18-1-1
record and a state ranking.
"Twenty-four years later Albany once again has reached the section
final and we're playing the same team. Hopefully the outcome will be
better."
In the quarterfinals, Albany and Colonie were scoreless through
two 40-minute halves, two 10-minute overtime periods and two five-minute
overtimes. In the first round of penalty kicks, both teams converted all
five chances, sending the game into sudden death.
Each team converted its first opportunity in
sudden death, but then each failed to convert its seventh chance.
Shooting eighth for Albany, Daniels, a
sophomore, made good on the opportunity, just as classmate Matthew Wu
did with his goal in the second overtime to beat Saratoga Springs in a
first-round playoff game Oct. 25. Murphy followed with a classic save,
diving to his left to deflect the ball away and touch off another
post-game celebration by the Falcons and their fans.
In the first-round victory over Saratoga
Springs, Wu's goal, with 3:21 remaining in the second
overtime, gave the Big 10 its first playoff victory over a Suburban
Council opponent since Albany beat Guilderland in 2002. CBA and LaSalle
also followed with first-round wins over Suburban Council teams, but
both were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Ben Coco's first-half goal gave Albany a 1-0
lead against Saratoga. It appeared that margin would stand up until Saratoga's Chris
Adams scored to tie the game in the final minutes of regulation. The
team's played through one scoreless 10-minute overtime period before
Wu's goal ended it.
The goal came off of a corner kick by Andrew
Caputo. The ball bounced free in front, where Wu pounced on it 10 feet
from the goal to send a high shot past the Saratoga keeper.
Murphy was outstanding in
goal in the first-round win, finishing with 12 saves. Connor Stark, Frank Tschantret, Siahr
Siddiqi and Caputo also had excellent games.
|
