In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Guilderland boys soccer team achieved more than it thought it would.
The Dutchmen (12-3-1, 16.5 points) wrapped up the Suburban Council South Division title with a 2-1 victory over Mohonasen Thursday, Oct. 16, in Rotterdam. The one standings point they earned for the win also all but assured them of the No. 3 seed for the Section 2 Class AA playoffs.
“We graduated 12 seniors from last year, so to get 12 wins and win the South (Division), we’re elated with that,” said Guilderland coach Mike Kinnally. “Our goal every year is to get at least 10 wins. With some programs, 10 wins is a lot, but that’s what we expect.”
Guilderland was to receive its official Sectional seeding Tuesday, Oct. 21, and Kinnally said he expected it to be an interesting meeting with former Big 10 schools Christian Brothers Academy, Albany, LaSalle and Schenectady all petitioning for seeds after playing independent schedules this season. In particular, Kinnally said, CBA (12-3-1) was looking for a high seed.
“It’s certainly going to be tricky because CBA’s schedule is so weak to begin with, and then they turned around and lost to LaSalle 4-0 and to Schenectady last week,” said Kinnally.
Guilderland and Bethlehem (10-5-1, 13 points) already knew where they stood within the Suburban Council hierarchy at the conclusion of the regular season. Guilderland had the third-most standings points behind North Division champion Shaker (14-1-1, 20.5 points) and North Division runner-up Shenendehowa (12-3-1, 18.5 points). Bethlehem finished fifth overall in the league, thanks to a six-game winning streak to wrap up the season.
Kinnally said his Guilderland team was “a little dinged up” with some minor injuries to a couple of players, but he expects the Dutchmen to be ready for their playoff opener later this week.
“We’re not afraid of anybody,” said Kinnally. “We just have to go out and play.”
Kinnally said the main focus this week will be to improve Guilderland’s offensive efficiency.
“We’re having trouble finishing our opportunities,” said Kinnally. “We’ve been in almost all of our games, but in the ones we’ve lost, it’s been because we just haven’t finished our shots. We have to take advantage of our opportunities when we have them.”
Guilderland does have one of the stingiest defenses in the Suburban Council, though. The Dutchmen posted six shutouts and allowed a total of 13 goals during the 16-game regular season.
“At this time of the year, it’s all about playing well,” said Kinnally.
