VOORHEESVILLE — The Voorheesville soccer team won an ugly game on Tuesday night. But, at this time of the year, the Blackbirds will take a win any way they can get it.

The boys continued their defense of the Class B Section II title with a semifinal win over Colonial Council rival Mechanicville, 2-0, at LaSalle Institute in South Troy.

Voorheesville will play Saturday at Colonie High School against Chatham. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Tuesday, both goals came in the second half, after the Blackbirds played a miserable first half.
"We played a little bit better," said Voorheesville Coach Mike Young. "Mechanicville had a great game plan and we were fortunate to get a two-to-nil win."

Senior Greg Klopfer scored both goals for the Blackbirds.

The first came with 36:05 left in the game. Dominic Venditti got the ball near the midfield and dribbled by some defenders and kicked a pass to Klopfer. He beat a pair of defenders down the left side of the field and blasted a shot high into the upper corner for the score.

Klopfer sealed the win with a tally with 5:53 left in the contest.

He got the ball near the penalty area and had a one-versus-one encounter with the Mechanicville goalie. The goalie came out and tried to play the ball. Klopfer lofted it over him and kicked it into the goal to make the score 2-0.
"Klopfer is amazing," Young said. "Kevin Klembczyk was marking Joe Mahoney and, as Mahoney goes, Mechanicville goes. Matt Belgiovine did a great job at sweeper."

Laid-back start

The Blackbirds played a lackadaisical first half, especially in the midfield, but were able to escape with 0-0 tie.

That was because the defense played well. Klembczyk marked Mahoney, one of the top strikers in the Colonial Council, and Belgiovine cleared anything that got near the goal.

Voorheesville goalie Tom Cavanaugh was also tough in net and took control of the defense.
"We haven’t been practicing because of some injuries," Young said. "We had Saturday and Sunday off. So we had one day to practice. Mechanicville is unbelievable. They work as hard as any team in any league..."
"It’s rare for our midfield to play like that," Young said of the first half. "They usually provide stability and Mechanicville’s midfield did a good job. I’m sure Klembczyk has a great future as a marking back in this league. Every game he is marking the other team’s best player."

The Blackbirds have only given up 12 goals in the Colonial Council this season and 15 all year.

The Birds also got strong play from a couple of younger players off the bench.
"Ryan Dimmitt played some strong minutes," Young said. "He gained a lot of experience. Rob DiBlasi on the right flank did an amazing job of stopping a lot of Mechanicville runs. It shows how much depth we have."

Voorheesville took four shots in the contest and Mechanicville took five. Mechanicville also took 10 corner kicks and Voorheesville had just one.

Quarterfinal victory

The Blackbirds won their quarterfinal game easily over Colonial Council rival Broadalbin-Perth.

Voorheesville scored six goals and shut out the Patriots in a game played in Voorheesville.

Greg Jones scored the first goal with an assist from Venditti. Klopfer scored the second goal on a penalty kick in the first half.

Klopfer’s second goal made the score 3-0 in the first half. Lee Fenner assisted on the tally.

Venditti scored the first goal of the second half with an assist from Jones.

Belgiovine scored his first goal of the year with a penalty kick with 21:36 left in the half to put the Birds up 5-0.

Matt Miller closed out the scoring with 19:12 left in the game. Miller was assisted by Jeff Bode.

The Birds took 12 shots in the game and had seven corner kicks. Cavanaugh made four saves in the game.

Broadalbin took just three shots and their goalie was forced to made seven saves.
"I totally did not expect this," Young said of the blow-out win. "For us to win 6-0 is surprising. But we are capable of doing this against these guys. We played a good game."

Up next

Voorheesville will face Chatham of the Patroon Conference. It will be the first time the Birds won’t face a Colonial Council team in the post-season.

Chatham beat Tamarac, 3-2, on Tuesday.
"They both have strong histories," Young said before knowing the outcome of Tuesday’s second semifinal game. "Tamarac dominated the CC’s the past few years. Outside of the double A’s, I think the C’s is the hardest Class. Chatham is always good. We played them in the semis last year. We’ll just have wait and see. I don’t know anything about these teams. That’s why I’ll stay and watch."