Niskayuna stymies Shaker again

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Lee Esposito of Niskayuna, left, and team mate Tyler Hanft, go for after the ball on a corner kick with Brennan Jelstrom of Shaker at Colonie High School Thursday, October 30, 2014.

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Joe Carosella can’t fully explain it. Neither can his players.

Whatever the reason, Niskayuna is the one team that had Shaker’s number during the Suburban Council boys’ soccer season. The Silver Warriors’ success extended Thursday night, when they beat the Blue Bison, 3-1, in the Class AA semifinals.

Fourth-seeded Niskayuna will play No. 2 seed Shenendehowa in Monday night’s final after Tom Osborn’s second-half goal gave the Plainsmen a 1-0 victory over Guilderland in the other half of the “AA” semi at Colonie.

“I think they kind of play a similar style to the way we do. They look to play the ball quick, they’re fast and they play physical and aggressive all over the field,” said Carosella, whose team went 2-0-1 against the overall Suburban Council champion, coming from behind all three times in putting the only three blemishes on Shaker’s final 15-2-1 record.

“It’s hard to do this well against a team like that. They were the top team in the league, and there’s a reason for that.”

“We match up very well with this team. I’m not sure exactly why that is,” said senior forward Luke Faranda, who scored the winning goal. “It gave us a good mindset coming in.”

Lee Esposito, who tied the game early in the second half, agreed.

“I think the way our formation sets up, it counters their formation perfectly,” Esposito said.

Playing without standout defender David Riccio, Shaker had to move some players around, but took a 1-0 lead on Tommy Jelstrom’s goal with just under 11 minutes left in the half.

A little over three minutes into the second half, though, the game turned as Esposito curled a 30-yard free kick into the far corner, and Faranda tucked home a goal after a loose ball literally fell into his lap at the right post. A Bobby Chapman goal sealed 12-3-4 Niskayuna’s second final in three years.

“I knew coming out in the second half we needed to go hard. We needed a goal,” said Esposito. “I decided to put one in the air to the back post.”

“It was a tough angled shot, but somehow it went in,” said Faranda of his game winner. “I was just trying to be a big body in there, and it worked out.”

Shaker, which last made it to the finals in 2004, was shooting for its first sectional championship.

“I actually thought we outplayed them for the majority of the game,” said Shaker coach Dan Fountain. “They got about three [scoring opportunities] and we created all three for them. They went 3-for-3, and we missed about five or six, Welcome to the word of sports.

“David Riccio is our senior captain. Missing him is obviously a big deal, but we preach next man up. We’re not going to be a team that points to an injury as an excuse.”

Osborn came forward from his center back position to slickly redirect a Miles Burbank corner kick midway through the second half as the Plainsmen ended two years of semifinal frustration.

“Usually, we have people run straight out to the six-yard box and that opens my header up,” Osborn said. “That time, it worked perfectly. Everyone ran near post, and I just flicked it in.”

Burbank had trouble with his earlier services, but put the ball right on Osborn’s head when he needed to.

“I knew I had been hitting them a little bit too far throughout the game,” Burbank said. “It was windy, that had something to do with it, so I knew I had to take a little off it and hit it in there like I normally do.

“I knew I had gotten it to where it was supposed to be. And Tom was in there.”

“Tom is a player who will sacrifice life and limb to get on the end of a ball. When I saw that he scored it, I was not surprised,” said Shenendehowa coach Jonathan Bain. “He’s played great all year, and the center backs don’t get a lot of the glory.”

Bain had no issue with Burbank taking what turned into the winning assist.

“The other night against Ballston Spa, Miles put in a great number of them,” Bain said. “It was a beautiful redirect. It was one of those where the keeper doesn’t have much of a chance.”

In the girls’ Class D semis at Stillwater, Fort Ann ended Mekeel Christian Academy’s most successful season with a 1-0 win. Emily Jackson had the goal off a corner kick,

The Lady Lions, the second seed, finished 10-5-2.