The showdown for Suburban Council soccer supremacy is set.
In one corner is traditional power Shenendehowa a program that has won enough league and Section II titles to fill a trophy case.
In the other corner is Colonie a program that is working toward having the winning tradition that Shen has established.
Both teams enter Wednesday night’s showdown in Colonie with 7-0 league records. Colonie (9-1 overall) shut out defending class AA champion Saratoga 3-0 Monday, while Shen (8-0-2) defeated Mohonasen 4-0.
The winner of Wednesday’s game gains the inside track to the best record in the Suburban Council and the No. 1 seed for the class AA playoffs, while the loser will still be in the running for a top four seed but won’t have a chance to avenge its loss in the regular season. This is the only meeting between the two teams.
`We’re very happy with where we stand right now, but even though it feels like it’s late, we’re only halfway through our Suburban Council season,` said Colonie coach Mike Trimarchi.
Both teams feature balanced attacks and stingy defenses. Colonie has seven players with two or more goals and has allowed only 11 goals in its 10 games, but Shen has allowed only three goals in league games while getting multi-goal production from seven starters.
`Obviously, their offense is putting up huge numbers, but their defense isn’t giving up many goals either,` said Trimarchi.
Shen will have its hands full trying to stop Colonie’s dynamic duo of Sean Bonnano and Nick Santos. Bonnano has eight goals and four assists through the first 10 games, while Santos increased his totals to seven goals and three assists with a two-point day in Monday’s victory over Saratoga.
But even if Shen is successful in stopping Bonnano and Santos, there are other Colonie players who can put the ball in the goal. Chris Logan, Brad Schlude, Tom Plowinske and Tommy Greene each have scored three goals this season. That’s better than Shen, which only has two players with more than two goals ` T.J. Popolizio (nine goals) and Jim Santamaria (six goals).
`I don’t think opponents can focus on one guy on our team. If they do, other kids can step up and hurt them,` said Trimarchi.
This won’t be the only important game for Colonie during its stretch drive toward Sectionals. The Garnet Raiders still have Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (Friday), Niskayuna (Oct. 11), Guilderland (Oct. 17) and a rematch with Saratoga (Oct. 19) left following Wednesday night’s showdown with Shen.
`All of the teams in the (Suburban) Council are very strong, and to say that one game has a huge impact in determining first, second or third (seed) wouldn’t be fair,` said Trimarchi.
Still, a win over the Plainsmen would put the Garnet Raiders in a better position to take the top seed ` something that Colonie hasn’t had in a long time.
`Wednesday night is going to be a very exciting atmosphere, and the kids are looking forward to it,` said Trimarchi.
Another boys soccer team that is battling for first place in its league is Loudonville Christian. The Eagles wrapped up the first half of their Central Hudson Valley League schedule last Wednesday with a 1-1 tie against Berlin that gave them a one-point lead over Waterford in the standings.
Matt Burke had the lone Loudonville Christian goal, and Alex MaLossi stopped 14 shots to help the Eagles raise their league record to 4-1-1 entering Tues-day’s contest at Germantown.“