VOORHEESVILLE - It was a disappointing end to the season for the Voorheesville boys' soccer team. But the future looks bright.

The Blackbirds lost to Galway, 3-2, in a Class CC semifinal game last Wednesday in Glens Falls.

Galway won the Class CC title on Saturday in Colonie and is unbeaten this season and ranked number-one in the state in Class C by the New State Sportswriters Association.

Voorheesville was seeded fifth for the tournament and beat number-four seed Lake George to earn a spot in the semifinals.

The Blackbirds had the Eagles on the ropes in the second half of their contest and, if not for a controversial missed call, the outcome might have been different.

With Galway leading, 2-1, in the second half, a Voorheesville player took a shot on goal. The Galway goalie was out of position but an Eagles defender stopped the ball with his hands. A penalty for a handball should have been called, resulting in a penalty kick, but no call was made.

A few minutes after the missed call, Galway scored to essentially ice the game and give the Eagles the spot in the championship game.
"I don't like to make excuses," said Voorheesville Coach Willie Sanchez, "but the refs blew some calls. I don't know how he could not be looking at that play. And, in the first half, there was a tackle in the box they didn't call. But that's what happens. We made it a game."

After Steven Wilday scored his third goal of the game to give Galway a 3-1 lead, Voorheesville tried hard to get back into the game.

The Blackbirds pressured the Eagles but could not catch up until late in the game.

Junior Ryan Dimmit scored on a direct kick with 1:53 left in the contest, but it was too late as Galway was able to hold on for the win.
"I'm proud of my guys," Sanchez said. "Earlier in the season, we might not have fought back. We continued to play hard and create chances. And that's all you can ask for. They [Galway] are a good team and they played hard. They're physical, and it took us awhile to adjust to that."

Even play

Wilday put the Eagles on the scoreboard first in the first half of the contest. Wilday took a pass from Eduard Nevistic and buried a shot into the low, far corner of the goal to give Galway a 1-0 lead with 11:15 left in the opening stanza.

Wilday made it 2-0 early in the second half with an assist from Kevin Miller.

The Blackbirds answered back, putting pressure on the Eagles' defense. Voorheesville finally broke through on a long shot by Ryan Dimmit.

Dimmit connected on a long shot beyond the 18-yard marker and buried it into the upper corner with 33:07 left in the game.

Wilday gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead with another assist from Miller. Dimmit would cut the lead to one late in the game on a direct kick.
"We were diving in a lot," Sanchez said of his defense, leading to the three goals. "They have talented players from the midfield to the top. When you dive in, the next guy has to step up and, when that doesn't happen, your numbers are down. That can't happen against a good team."

The majority of the game was played evenly and the statistics show that. Galway finished with 18 shots to Voorheesville's 13.

Blackbird junior goalie Lee Fenner made 11 saves and Galway keeper Matt Almy made 18 saves.

The Eagles had six corner-kick attempts to two for the Blackbirds.
"We struggle against physical teams," Sanchez said. "It took us awhile to adjust."

The Blackbirds also had a great opportunity to score first in the contest. But a shot went off the crossbar.
"If we score in the first 10 minutes, it changes the game," Sanchez said. "We score and we feel pretty good. But they scored and it took the wind out of us.
"I thought we were in trouble when we went down 2-0," Sanchez added. "We continued to battle and we got it to 2-1. Then a penalty kick should have been called and we could have made it 2-2. Then, who knows what happens."

Only five players will graduate from the Voorheesville squad. So Sanchez will have a lot of players to work with next season.

There will be some key spots to fill as starters Kevin Vanderwende, Kevin Klembczyk, Noah Gorka, and Josh Glover will graduate. Reserve Anthony Loccisano will also graduate in June.
"We lose some good guys in Vanderwende, Klembczyk, Gorka, Glover, and Loccisano," Sanchez said. "Everyone else who comes back are talented guys. We'll be back."