One win may not change the fact that the Colonie boys soccer team is off to a slow start, but it may spark a strong finish.
The Garnet Raiders (1-3-1) picked up their first win of the Suburban Council season last Thursday by shutting out an improved Niskayuna squad 1-0 in Colonie.
We had the better of the play for the first half or first three quarters of the game, said Colonie coach Mike Trimarchi.
Colonie pressured Niskayuna’s defense in the first half, but only got one goal out of it ` a one-man effort by sophomore midfielder Mossiomo Smioroldo. As it turned out, it was all that the Garnet Raiders needed, as the Silver Warriors (2-3-0) had trouble getting their shots on goal.
`One of the issues we’ve had earlier this year was giving up good looks on shots, and we didn’t give them a lot of good looks [Thursday],` said Trimarchi.
Colonie had another positive in the Niskayuna game. Senior forward Tommy Greene, who missed the first week of the season with an injury, came close to scoring his first goal of the season when he hit the goalpost twice in the first half.
`Tommy Greene, for the first time, looked like himself,` said Trimarchi.
As Greene gets on track, Colonie’s offense could become one of the most dangerous in the Suburban Council. Young players like Smioroldo, sophomore forward Tommy Osipitan, junior back Will Lyons and sophomore Edin Hadjimuratovic already have been contributing to the offense, which Trimarchi sees as a good sign.
`We’re excited about that fact that young guys are scoring our goals,` said Trimarchi. `Two of our three goals this season have been scored by sophomores.`
Colonie has some challenges coming up. After traveling to Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Tuesday, the Garnet Raiders host crosstown rival Shaker Thursday before visiting Mohonasen Saturday.
But if the offense comes around, Trimarchi said his team will be in good shape for a run at the Suburban Council South Division title.
`We feel we’re in a good position right now,` he said.
Ups and downs
Shaker (2-3-0) has been riding a roller coaster lately. First, the Blue Bison experienced the high of beating formerly undefeated Bethlehem 3-1 last Tuesday. Then, they fell to defending Section II, Class AA champion Guilderland 1-0 last Thursday.
Alex Stopera, Caleb Mellon and Brandon Risler scored for Shaker in its victory over Bethlehem, and goaltender Joe Scarchelli made several key saves down the stretch to preserve the two-goal lead. Scarchelli did another solid job in Thursday’s game against Guilderland, but Mike Crupi scored late in the second half to give the Dutchmen (3-1-1) the win.
The Blue Bison looked to rebound from last Thursday’s loss when they hosted Columbia Tuesday.
King leads Eagles
One team that is rolling right along is Loudonville Christian, and Dillon King is leading the way.
King recorded two hat tricks to help the Eagles (3-0 league, 5-1 overall) defeat Doane Stuart 3-1 last Thursday and down Heatly 7-1 Monday in a pair of Central Hudson Valley League games.
King increased his season total to 13 goals, tops in Section II. He also contributed a pair of assists in Loudonville Christian’s six-goal victory over Heatly Monday.
Eric Hudspath, Ryan Walsh, Sam Freda and Koury Deeb added goals against Heatly, which is still searching for its first CHVL win of the season.
Loudonville Christian hosts Waterford Wednesday before traveling to Berlin Friday.“