GUILDERLAND — When Guilderland soccer goalie Uriah Myrie dove to his left to stop the final shot, teammate Kyle Klapp lost his shirt.

It was a very cold late October night on Monday, but that didn’t stop Klapp from running around with his shirt off in celebration. The Guilderland senior was rejoicing over the biggest win in his soccer life.

The Dutchmen took out the mighty Shenendehowa boys’ soccer team in Clifton Park in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs. The game was decided on penalty kicks to break a 1-1 tie that couldn’t be decided in 80 minutes of regulation play, or in two 10-minute overtime periods, and two five-minute periods.
"I had a million thoughts in my head," Klapp said after the game. "I’ve been on the varsity for the past three years and we’ve played the number-one seed in the second round of sectionals. We beat Shen. I still can’t believe it happened. I just wanted to get my shot past the goalie and let Uriah do his thing. He did and we got the win."

Klapp was the last of five Guilderland players to get a shot in the penalty kick shootout. He calmly placed the ball past Shen goalie Kyle Boni to give the Dutch the lead.

Shen’s Matt Konecnik stepped up to the penalty mark in front of the goal and kicked the ball to the right. Myrie dove and knocked the ball away, setting off a red-colored celebration.
"I was thinking I had to make a save," Myrie said. "It came down to one. This was our one-time opportunity to beat the defending state champions on their field at night."
"Our kids responded and battled," Guilderland Coach Mike Kinnally said. "They deserved everything they got. They showed so much heart and I’ve questioned their heart all year, even when we win.
"Shen was undefeated, number-one in the state, and the defending state champions," Kinnally said. "Uriah in goal was great. Nobody was going to beat us tonight. I can’t believe it now. But I’m proud of our team."

Even start

The first half was pretty even for the most part, though Shen scored first, 6:53 into the contest. T.J. Popolizio volleyed the ball into the goal after the ball went off the head of teammate Joe Miner.

Guilderland evened the score with 23:19 left in the half. Junior Ryan Lofaro got a pass from Klapp and kicked the ball past Boni for the tying tally.

But, from that point on, Shen dominated the rest of the half with the Dutchmen barely holding on to escape the half with a tie.

The second half was even throughout, as both teams had good scoring chances.

Myrie made a great diving save to knock a ball away and then made a leaping save, knocking the ball over the goal to preserve the tie.

Myrie finished regulation with six saves and Boni had five saves for Shen. The Dutchmen outshot the Plainsmen, 7-6, in the regulation period.

Overtime

The first overtime period was uneventful as Shen just had one shot.

Both teams missed great chances in the second overtime. Frank Campagnano missed a direct kick over the goal and Shen’s David Burke also missed a direct kick over the goal a few minutes later.

Boni later made a point-blank save on Campagnano late in the overtime period that kept the game tied.

Neither team got great chances in the two five-minute overtime sessions as fatigue set in.

Next up, were the penalty kicks.
"We’d been playing for 110 minutes," Klapp said. "We had to hold them and, when we got to penalty kicks, I knew we had a good shot."

Campagnano went first for Guilderland and got a low shot by Boni. John Roche answered for Shen to tie it at one.

Phil Cassidy missed his shot for the Dutch, going wide. It gave Shen an opening. David Burke scored for Shen to give the Plainsmen a 2-1 lead.

Tony Campagnano kept Guilderland alive with a low hard shot and the Dutch were even when Popolizio’s shot went over the goal.

Lofaro gave the Dutch a 3-2 lead in the penalty kicks, but Tyler Izykowski answered for the Plainsmen.
"Pumped"

Then came Klapp’s goal and Myrie’s save to give the Dutchmen the upset victory.
"I got to be," Myrie said about being nervous before the final kick. "I was a little bit. But it kept me pumped. It kept me going."
"This was the longest game I’ve ever been a part of," Kinnally said. "We haven’t had a p.k. taken against us all year."
"It was electrifying and shocking," Klapp said. "I had no idea what to do. I was frozen for, like, 10 seconds. I was just standing there."

Kinnally changed his alignment on the field from when these teams met in September. The Dutch went with a four defender, four midfielder, two striker line-up in the first meeting. This game, Kinnally went with five midfielders.
"We had more offensive chances tonight then we had with two strikers," Kinnally said.

The Dutch also got a big game out of Matt Stillman who came in to replace injured starter Greg Murphy.
"Stillman played 60 percent of the game," Kinnally said. "That is more than he’s played most of the year. I’m extremely proud of him."

Semifinals next

Next up for Guilderland is Saratoga in the sectional semifinals.
"It’s nice to keep it going," Myrie said. "It’s never good to lose you final game. We want to keep it going."

Kinnally said the win was a sign that the club team — the Guilderland United — is starting to have a good effect.
"This is a big step, no doubt," Kinnally said. "I want to dedicate this win to our club program. We have 400 kids and we have a lot of people that put a lot of work into it. You start to wonder if you are going to go anywhere.
"Shen is a good team," Kinnally added. "This place has been a machine since I was at Niskayuna in the ’80’s. They continue to produce great teams. And they are a classy bunch. I respect those guys."