Matt Henning might be the fourth striker listed on the Bethlehem soccer team’s depth chart, but he played like a top-flight forward Friday.
Henning scored a first-half goal and assisted on Alex Kerker’s tally late in the second half to help the Eagles (2-0-0) defeat Guilderland 4-1 in a Suburban Council South Division game.
`It’s tough to keep him off the field,` Bethlehem coach Phil Ridgway said of Henning, who has come off the bench in each of the Eagles’ first two games. `I’ve got four great strikers and only three (starting) spots. Whenever he comes in, he does well.`
Guilderland (1-1-0) looked good in its season-opening 3-0 victory over Columbia Tuesday, but the Dutchmen came unglued against Bethlehem. Guilderland had trouble running its offense, and defensive lapses created several scoring chances for Bethlehem.
`This is the second game of the year, and to me these are extended tryouts,` said Guilderland coach Mike Kinnally. `We had flashes today where we played adequately, but we’re not where I want us to be.`
Bethlehem’s offense took some time to get in sync, too. The Eagles misfired on four shots before Henning scored with 17:20 left in the first half.
`We had a lot of opportunities and we tried to keep them composed, but as soon as they got ahead of the (Guilderland) defense, they got nervous,` said Ridgway. `We missed three easy goals in the first 20 minutes.`
Zach Stryker put Bethlehem ahead 2-0 when he scored less than six minutes into the second half. Ethan Strauss then slammed a shot off Guilderland goaltender Kedrick Weeden’s fingers into the goal to make it a three-goal Eagles lead. Kerker tallied three minutes later off Henning’s pass to make the score 4-0.
`I don’t think we’ve ever scored four goals against Guilderland,` said Ridgway. `They’re a tough, physical defensive team. Those last two goals (aside), it really should have been a 2-0 game.`
Connor Rubin ended Bethlehem’s shutout bid when he scored with 1:46 left to get Guilderland on the scoreboard, but it was one of the few quality scoring chances the Dutchmen had. Eagles goaltender Alex Kessler made only a handful of saves, one of which was a leaping catch less than 15 minutes into the first half.
`I thought we had one solid (scoring) chance,` said Kinnally. `The rest was all fluff.`
Bethlehem plays its home opener Tuesday against Colonie, while Guilderland travels to Mohonasen.
