Mechanicville boys' soccer continues Wasaren League unbeaten streak, captures another title

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Mechanicville's Luke Micklas slide tackles Declan Kelleher of Greenwich Wednesday at Mechanicville's Ted Weigle Memorial Field.

MECHANICVILLE — Mechanicville’s Wasaren League superiority in boys’ soccer continued Wednesday night at Ted Weigle Memorial Field.

Mechanicville ran its league unbeaten streak to 77 games (76 wins, 1 tie) and won its sixth consecutive league title with a 5-0 shutout of Greenwich. The last time it lost a league game was October, 2016, and the one tie came to Greenwich on Oct. 5, 2017.

A big part of Mechanicville’s success this season is because it possesses the ball so much. Because of that, it has outscored opponents 81-3 in 15 games, with an 8-0 record in the league, 13-0-2 overall mark and a state Class B poll ranking of fourth.

Images: Mechanicville boys’ soccer takes on Greenwich (8 photos)

“We’ve really started to come a long way [with possession],” captain Luke Micklas said. “Possession has been there the last three weeks, can’t really complain at all.”

“That’s what we really strive on,” Mechanicville coach Mike Ciulla said of possession. “Some of the game plans teams throw at us, that’s what we have to do. We really have to possess and get creative with some of our offensive attack.”

Mechanicville forced Greenwich goalkeeper Aaron Stutzman to make six saves before scoring its first goal with 24:35 left in the first half. Tom Wendell crossed the ball from the right side to the middle, and Scott Lynch was there to score.

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Once Mechanicville got a taste of the net, it didn’t stop, scoring its next three goals in a span of under five and a half minutes. Lynch found Wendell, who made a nice header that kissed off the far pipe and in for a 2-0 lead. Then Gruz Goveski found Wendell, and Rece Dyer put back a rebound of Logan Starks’ shot to give Mechanicville a 4-0 halftime lead.

Mechanicville made it 5-0 1:14 into the second half when Wendell found Lynch again on a cross.

Despite the fact it was one-sided, Greenwich put on an impressive flurry, forcing captain Dylan Raucci to make his first save with 35:55 left. With little time to process his first save, he had to make two more impressive stops shortly thereafter.

“Defense is really solid this year, we’re not letting much by,” Raucci said. “The few that got by, a few mistakes here and there, but we can clean them up quick, and we’ve come out with a W every time.”

Mechanicville’s only ties have been scoreless, to Class A La Salle and to Class C Voorheesville.

When it comes to the Wasaren League streak, Ciulla is impressed with his players’ poise under pressure when he considers they’re between 15 and 17 years old.

“At some point, you would think maybe a down day,” Ciulla said. “It’s almost like a golfer. The average golfer goes out and plays nine holes good, nine holes bad in an 18-hole round. These guys have, continuously, in every league game played hard for the last six years. It’s something we talk about at the beginning of the year. We put it on our goal list, continue that streak.”

“I think you carry on the winning streak, whatever we got going on right now. Seventy-seven? We just expect to keep it going,” Raucci said.

Mechanicville has one more non-league game against fellow Class B team Cohoes on Saturday, and then awaits its Section II playoff seed. It likely will be No. 1, given that it has beaten Class A South Glens Falls Gloversville and Lansingburgh, tied La Salle and beaten Class B teams Schalmont, 5-0, and Greenville, 3-1 – the latter being the team that beat it in last year’s final, 2-1.

Images: Mechanicville boys’ soccer takes on Greenwich (8 photos)

“Second game of the year on a wet field, and it was up-tempo and intense,” Ciulla said of this year’s Greenville game. “We really persevered through some tough field conditions. It was hard. That was one we had circled: go win.”

Mechanicville 5, Greenwich 0

Halftime score: Mechanicville, 4-0. Mechanicville scoring: Wendell 2-2, Lynch 2-1, Dyer 1-0, Goverski 0-1, Starks 0-1. Goalies: Greenwich, Stutzman, 13 saves. Mechanicville, D.Raucci, 4 saves.