After some early struggles within the Suburban Council, the Shaker boys soccer team is red hot.
The Blue Bison defeated Niskayuna 3-0 Monday for their fourth consecutive win, which moved them into second place in the Suburban Council North Division, one point ahead of Ballston Spa.
We’ve put some wins together, which is good, said second-year Shaker coach Bill Blesi. `We’re getting there, and it’s starting to show in our results. Hopefully, it will keep going.`
The Blue Bison (5-3 league, 7-3 overall) had been struggling to score goals, even during their winning streak. But against Niskayuna (1-6-1), Shaker found its scoring touch as it posted its highest goal total since beating crosstown rival Colonie 5-0 in the finals of the Colonie Tournament Sept. 3.
`It was good to score some goals,` said Blesi.
Seth Van Der Veer gave Shaker the lead with a goal three minutes into the first half. Andrew Marino and Nick Marsolais added second-half goals, both coming on rebounds.
The one-point divisional win gives the Blue Bison seven standings points entering Thursday’s game against Ballston Spa ` a team that beat Shaker 1-0 in overtime in their first Suburban Council meeting Sept. 8. The Scotties (3-5-2, 5-5-2) are in third place with six points, one point ahead of Saratoga Springs.
`This is a funny year in the Suburban Council. Everybody is capable of beating each other,` said Blesi.
On the other side of town, Colonie (5-4-1, 6-5-1) is also playing good soccer. The Garnet Raiders edged Ballston Spa 2-1 in overtime last Friday to move into a tie with Bethlehem for second place in the highly-competitive South Division.
`Coming into the year, we knew we were going to be young, and consistency would be an issue,` said Colonie coach Mike Trimarchi. `All things considered, we’re happy with how we’re doing.`
The Garnet Raiders bounced back from an early Ballston Spa goal by applying steady pressure on the Scotties’ defense. That pressure paid off in the second half when Tom Isipitan scored off a feed from Tom Plowinske to tie the game at 1. Brad Schlude then put Colonie ahead for good in overtime when he tallied off a Will Plowinske assist.
`The majority of the game, we had the better of the play,` said Trimarchi. `They scored on a breakaway (in the first half), and their goaltender did a great job of keeping us off the (score)board.`
Colonie earned two standings points for the cross-divisional game to increase its season total to nine and forge a tie for second place with Bethlehem. Unbeaten Guilderland leads the South Division with 12 standings points entering Thursday’s game against the Garnet Raiders.
`We’re really looking forward to seeing them again,` Trimarchi said of Guilderland, which defeated Colonie 3-2 Sept. 8. `We match up really well with them.“
