Six years of frustration ended for the Bethlehem boys soccer team Monday.
Elliot Hiller and Liam Roohan scored to lead the Eagles (17-0-2) to a 2-0 victory over Niskayuna in the Section II Class AA finals at Colonie Central High School and their first Sectional championship since 2006.
`It’s unbelievable,` said Roohan. `It doesn’t even feel like we won.`
`It feels good to finish it out,` said Bethlehem coach Phil Ridgway. `We’ve been the No. 1 seed (from the Suburban Council) the last three years, and for some reason we kept losing in either the quarterfinals or the semifinals.`
Hiller’s goal came out of left field. The senior defensive midfielder hadn’t scored at the varsity level before he launched a long shot past Niskayuna goaltender Taylor Tear in the 16th minute of the first half.
`Just out of nowhere, it was a great shot,` said Ridgway.
Roohan’s goal was another surprise. The senior forward leaned into a Ethan Gunty corner kick and got enough velocity on the shot that the ball barely crossed the goal line before a Niskayuna defender cleared it away. There was a slight hesitation before the referee signaled for a goal.
`Gunty sent a great corner into the (penalty) box,` said Roohan. `It was too low for me to head the ball, so I ran it in with my chest.`
Niskayuna (11-5-3) generated several scoring chances, but it had a harder time getting shots on goal. One first half shot sailed slightly over the crossbar, and the Silver Warriors misfired on three attempts in the second half.
`It was close, but sometimes it doesn’t fall the way you want it to,` said Niskayuna coach Joe Carosella.
`They never stopped playing hard. You have to give them credit,` said Ridgway. `Some teams might have stopped trying when they get down two goals, but they never stopped.`
Bethlehem advances to this weekend’s Class A regional against Section III champion Utica Proctor.