Riders again blocking Sabres' path

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bill Palmer

Schalmont and Scotia-Glenville will both be looking for a little payback against familiar foes today at the Section II boys’ soccer championships at Colonie.

Schalmont is looking to end five years of torment at the hands of Colonial Council rival Ichabod Crane in the noon Class B final.

The Tartans have another shot at South Glens Falls after losing to the Bulldogs in the Foothills Council championship game two weeks ago. They meet for the Class A title at 2.

Schalmont has ridden the offense of Chris Hamilton and Cameron LaVallee and a steady defense to a 16-3-0 record. One of those losses is to the Riders, who beat the Sabres in last year’s sectional final.

“We can’t wait to play them,” said Schalmont coach Jason Beck. “We’ve been looking forward to it. That’s what we want and we’re there.”

Beck started one senior, two juniors, six sophomores and a pair of freshmen in Wednesday’s 4-1 semifinal win over Broadalbin-Perth.

“They’re young and hungry. They don’t know any better,” Beck said. “This is fresh, it’s new. That’s what’s the exciting part.”

Scotia and South Glens Falls have split two prior meetings this season. The 14-3-1 Tartans have not allowed a goal in their two postseason games, with senior defenders Zach Musto and Sam Carmola leading the defense.

“They have some fast guys and they finish their opportunities,” said Musto of the top-seeded Bulldogs. “Our most important thing is to score first.”

“We’re trying to eliminate their key players, and ideally, eliminate any shots on goal,” said Carmola, who felt the Foothills final was closer than the score indicated. “Even in the game we lost, I think we controlled a lot of the play. It was closer than 3-1.”

Scotia coach Chris Bailey expects a tight match between similar teams.

“Their defense is pretty composed, Ours is extremely good,” he said. “We both have good attacking players. The question is, ‘Can we beat their back four? Can they beat our back four?’

“I truly believe the team that scores first is going to have a huge advantage.”

Northville is also looking to reverse a loss, as it meets top-seeded Fort Ann in the rematch of last year’s Class D final at 4.

STREAK ON THE LINE

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake’s run of Class A girls’ titles will be on the line when the Lady Spartans face Scotia-Glenville at 5:30 at Lansingburgh.

“They’re playing better than I’ve seen them play in the past. They’re scoring goals, and not allowing, so we have to solve that,” said Burnt Hills coach Brian Bold, who is 9-for-9 in Section II title games. “I think they’ll be a little stronger than what we’ve seen in the past.”

The postseason streak was never in more jeopardy than when the Lady Spartans fell behind Queensbury in the second half of Tuesday’s semifinal before pulling out a 2-1 win.

“Our kids showed they deal well with adversity,” said Bold. “They showed me they know how to fight. They kept their composure and didn’t panic and found a way to win the game.”

Scotia coach Lise Williams has seen her clubs eliminated by the Lady Spartans in either the semis or finals the past five seasons. This year, Scotia’s first as a No. 1 seed during the BH run, the 17-1-0 Lady Tartans could be ready to reverse that as they have won their two postseason games without surrendering a goal.

“I think we match up with them a lot better this year,” she said of the second-seeded Lady Spartans. “We always have tough, close, physical games.

“But really, I’d like to see more of a two- or three-goal game in our favor.”