GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland girls’ soccer team got a win it desperately needed on Tuesday night.

The Lady Dutch capped off their Senior Night celebration with a 1-0 win over a scrappy Saratoga team.
"We’ve been in a little slump," said Guilderland Coach Barb Newton. "This will be a little morale booster."

The Dutch had a pair of losses this past week. They lost to Columbia last Wednesday and to Burnt Hills last Friday, both by 2-1 scores.
"Both games we were beaten by one goal," Newton said. "We’ve been in every game. We put a lot of pressure on those teams in the last five minutes. We rise to the occasion too late."

The Lady Dutch got off to a late start in Tuesday’s game. The score reamained 0-0 until Hannah Rosen scored with 20:54 left in the contest.

Rosen hit a ball from the right side that fooled the Saratoga goalie and went into the upper left corner for the score.
"Hannah hit a great outside shot," Newton said. "It fooled the goalie and it took me by surprise. It was a nice quality shot."

Julie Malkowski preserved the shutout with eight saves in net.
"Julie did a good job," Newton said. "She made some nice saves."

Newton has seen the same recurring problem with her team — slow starts.

And it happened on Tuesday as the Lady Dutch were lethargic until Rosen’s goal.
"We do very well at the end of games," Newton said. "It seems that we wake up to late. But the girls battle back."

Seniors honored

Newton said the win was nice for the seniors on their special night.
"It was a nice Senior Night," the coach said. "The seniors got a lot of playing time. We battled back. We had opportunities but we didn’t connect on shots."

Newton was also happy for her three captains — Jen Mihok, Kayla Best, and Bianca Germain.
"It was nice for the three captains," Newton said. "It was a nice win for them also."

Honored at halftime with their parents were seniors Mihok, Germain, Best, Taylor Stringer, Krystal Myers, Kaitlyn Gescedi, Christina Rodriguez, Carolyn Powers, Sam Ruppenthal, along with Lauren Driessen, who is out with a season-long injury, and manager Val Feldman.

The win bumps the Lady Dutch’s record to 9-4-1 overall and 6-3-1 in the Suburban Council as they prepare for the stretch run.

Guilderland has four games remaining. They take on Ballston Spa on Friday and travel to Niskayuna on Monday and to Shaker on Wednesday. The Lady Dutch wrap up the regular season with a match against Columbia.

The Section II tournament will begin the week of Oct. 24.
"The season is winding down," Newton said. "Our goal still is to get to the sectional finals. That’s something we’re pushing for."