GUILDERLAND — Guilderland girls’ soccer coach Barb Newton had mixed emotions after Tuesday night’s game.

She was happy with the way her team played but she was disappointed that they gave up a 2-0 halftime lead to Saratoga and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
"It’s disappointing," Newton said after the game. "I’m pleased in one aspect and disappointed in another. We had two goals and the potential to have four goals. We had opportunities in the first half. Both teams had wonderful opportunities.
"It’s frustrating," Newton added. "We couldn’t put the game away with a two-goal lead."

Sophomore Lauren Napoli put the Lady Dutch on the scoreboard seven minutes into the first half.

Hannah Rosen hit a great crossing pass in front of the goal. Napoli was able to run down the ball and tap it into the goal with a defender on her. Napoli banged into the goal post and ended up in the goal herself, along with the Saratoga defender, but was OK. It was Napoli’s first varsity goal.

Saratoga had chances to tie the game in the first half. The best came after Guilderland was called for a hand ball in the penalty area.

The Blue Streaks were awarded a penalty kick but Kelsey Whalen missed from the eight-yard mark in front of the goal. Whalen kicked the ball high and it hit the crossbar after Sarah Heller got a piece of the ball to deflect it.

Guilderland took its two-goal lead with 18:32 left in the half on a tally by Jackie DeLuise.
"Jackie worked hard on the front line," Newton said. "She is doing a lot for us on offense."

Tied

Saratoga came back in the second half. The Blue Streaks first tally came after a massive scrum in front of the goal put Guilderland’s goalie Julie Malkowski, who didn’t play in the first half, out of position. Saratoga’s Liz Boyer got her foot on the ball and put it into the goal for the score.

Boyer tied the game for the Blue Streaks with 29:07 left in the second half. She beat a defender on the left side and got the ball past Malkowski to even things at two goals apiece.

Saratoga continued to have the bulk of the play in the second half and had a golden opportunity to take the lead when it was awarded another penalty kick after a Guilderland foul in the penalty box.

Maria DeMatteo, the Blue Streaks best player and a future Division I college athlete, took the kick. Her kick went to the left but Malkowski made a diving save to preserve the tie.

The save breathed new life into the Lady Dutch but they couldn’t connect on a few scoring opportunities late in the half.
"We stopped two penalty kicks," Newton said. "Sarah Heller stopped the first one and Jule Malkowski stopped the other. Hannah Rosen played well in the midfield and Kaite Murdock has been stopping all the best forwards in the Suburban Council. Lynn Tran did solid defensive work."

Guilderland had great chances in the overtime periods but couldn’t connect for a goal.
We moved up and down the field," Newton said. "Toga has some big, strong girls that can shoot from 30 yards out. They weren’t as accurate as usual. I credit our defense for making them shoot from outside."

"Shaping up"

Newton was pessimistic when the season began due to new players’ lack of experience and injuries to the experienced players.
"This past week, we’ve started to improve our overall game," the coach said. "We still have things to work on to make us more successful. We need to go to the goal with more intensity."

The Lady Dutch have had some extra time to get more experience.
"This is our fourth overtime game in a week," Newton said. "We’ve played five games in six days. There hasn’t been a lot of rest time for them."

The Lady Dutch won 3-2 over Scotia on Monday, on Tran’s game-winning goal in the second overtime.
"I’m happy," Newton said. "Things are shaping up and working out a little better. And we’re getting healthier."
Newton added of one of her senior captains, "Devon Rosenberry will be coming back at the end of the week. And other girls are coming back to full strength."

Last Monday, the Dutch battled an unbeaten Columbia squad, losing 1-0 when the Blue Devils scored with two minutes remaining in the second overtime period.

Last Wednesday, they faced perennial power Niskayuna, which was unbeaten at 6-0-1. The Dutch earned a tie with the Silver Warriors.

Guilderland struck first when DeLuise knocked home the game’s first goal after receiving a pass by Danielle Tetreault. In the second half, Nisky evened the score but that was short lived when an alert DeLuise jumped on a poor goal kick by a Nisky defender and blasted her second goal into the net to give the Dutch a 2-1 lead.

Niskayuna rallied and, with five minutes remaining in regulation, once again tied the score at two apiece. Both teams were held scoreless in the overtime period.

On Friday, Guilderland jumped out to an early lead beating Colonie, 2-0. Hannah Rosen and DeLuise each scored a goal and were assisted by Danielle Burns and Tetreault respectively.

The Guilderland defense recorded its first shutout of the season led by Malkowski and defenders Lynn Tran, Francesca Pezze, Murdock, and Amanda Best.

The Lady Dutch are now 3-4-2 so far this season. To get more wins, Newton believes they have to put the ball in the back of the net more.
"We need to score more goals," she said. "We’ve given up more than we’ve scored. That’s been haunting us all season."