Niskayuna Boys Varsity Soccer Senior Day was a Success

by Raghav Raj

On November 7th, a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, our Niskayuna boys soccer team celebrated Senior Day with a victory against Schenectady. There were a total of seven seniors who were commemorated. These seniors are Jordan Angrist, Toby Goldner, Jesse Hoogs, Nicholas Lomonaco, Timothy McCorry, Ritwik Raj, and Chris Terwilliger. All seven were featured in the starting line-up against another local team, Schenectady. This was a significant day for these proud warriors. The away side suffered a defeat while Niskayuna outlined why they are the team to beat in a 8-2 thrashing Suburban Council league win. Although Schenectady did not have any high hopes coming into the match and were certainly not the favorites, the away fans were surprised by how many goals the opposition scored. The writing was on the wall after just a few minutes, with Niskayuna’s Evan Boyle finding the back of the net. Niskayuna then blitzed Schenectady with 3 more goals following in quick succession as the Silver Warriors looked to easily run away with the game. Fortunately for Schenectady, they were handed a lifeline just before the break, thanks to a late goal by Charles Barnett. But there was to be no comeback as Niskayuna secured the victory with 4 more goals, courtesy of Zach Lind, Michael Puccioni, and Luke Mendrysa. In the closing minutes of the game, Niskayuna was already rejoicing, though there was a consolation goal to come for Schenectady as they earned a penalty. Iddrisu Haruna, Schenectady’s star player and Junior Captain, stepped up to kick the ball from the spot. Initially, Papa Ndiaye, Niskayuna’s Junior Goalkeeper, had an excellent diving save to stop the penalty but Schenectady anticipated the rebound faster than Niskayuna and took advantage of the loose ball and had an easy tap in. In total, scoring for the Silver Warriors were Lind with a hat trick, Puccioni with 2 goals and Boyle, McCorry and Mendrysa each with 1 goal.

Schenectady goals were scored by Barnett and Harua. Overall, a good weekend for the Niskayuna team who continued their great run of form to the end of the season where they won 3-0 against a difficult Albany team. In the Suburban Council Tournament, they made it past the Sectional Quarterfinals before losing 4-2 to CBA in the Semifinals, in a match they believed they could have won. Schenectady, on the other hand, bounced back on track for the season in their last two matches of the regular season, with a 2-1 win over Columbia and a 1-0 win over Averill Park. Sadly for Schenectady they couldn’t make it past the first round of the consolation bracket of the Suburban tourney with a close 2-1 loss to Columbia. Finally, all the Niskayuna seniors helped contribute to this big win and they will surely remember this day when looking back on their past years and acknowledge this moment as a high point in their soccer careers.

Jeff Roche, in his 2nd year as Niskayuna HS Boys Varsity Assistant Coach, “wishes all of the seniors the best of luck in all that they do and thanks for all their hard work and dedication to the team.” Terrence Sloan, the Niskayuna HS Boys Varsity Soccer Coach for the 4th year, also gave these wonderful seniors and their families a message of appreciation. Coach Sloan “would like to thank all the parents for their support during their sons’ school careers. He advises the seniors to let their love for soccer and the lessons they have learned on the field provide a springboard into a successful future.”