Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, April 10, 2008
Dutchmen overcome sloppiness, beat Colonie
By Tim Matteson
GUILDERLAND — It was the first game of the season, and it looked like it for the Guilderland boys’ lacrosse team.
Unlike last year’s opener, the Dutchmen played a sloppy first game on Tuesday but came away with a win over Suburban Council rival Colonie.
Aaron Cahill’s goal in the middle of a scrum with 4:46 left in the fourth and final quarter proved to be the difference in a 10-9 win for Guilderland.
“This was our first time seeing another team’s offense and another team’s defense,” said Guilderland Coach Sean McConaghy. “We rode well and cleared the ball well. We didn’t put the ball on the cage.”
The game was close throughout as Colonie played well and brought physical toughness against the better skilled Dutchmen.
The Dutch had to come back in the fourth quarter to get the win.
The third quarter ended in an 8-8 tie, but Colonie scored first in the final frame to take the lead.
John Charton scored just 30 seconds into the stanza off an assist from Dan Sofia to give the Garnet Raiders the lead.
Colonie maintained the lead until Guilderland senior midfielder Brian Linehan tied the contest with a tally. Linehan got a pass from classmate Quinn Connell to the left of the goal and fired a shot into the lower far corner to tie the game 9-9.
A few minutes later, Colonie was a man down after a penalty. During the Guilderland extra-man opportunity, the ball was loose in front of the goal with players from Colonie and Guilderland swiping at it. Cahill, who played hockey during the winter for the Dutchmen, got his stick on the ball and flicked it into the goal to give his team the lead.
The Dutchmen were able to hold on to the ball in the last three minutes and ran out the clock, holding on for the win.
Back and forth
Guilderland led, 2-1, at the end of the first quarter.
Cahill scored off an assist from Linehan with 10:42 left in the opening stanza.
D.J. O’Connell answered for Colonie on an unassisted tally with 8:34 left in the quarter.
Linehan scored at 7:29 left in the frame with an assist from Rory Nunamacher.
The Garnet Raiders tied the game early in the second quarter.
O’Connell picked up his second goal of the game after driving around the goal and firing a shot on goal.
Travis Moore tallied for Guilderland with 10:31 left in the second quarter. Cahill assisted on the goal that put the Dutchmen up 3-2.
Guilderland took a 4-2 lead on a man-up tally by Moore. Connell assisted on the goal that came with 9:41 left in the second stanza.
Brian Sleasman pulled Colonie closer with an unassisted goal at 9:04 left in the frame.
Nunamacher gave the Dutch the lead with 8:02 left in the second quarter. Nunamacher faked a pass and, with the defense out of position, fired a shot in the upper right corner of the goal for the score.
The Garnet Raiders got closer with 7:11 left on a man-up goal by O’Connell. Charton assisted on the tally to make the score 5-4.
Paul Jones scored for Guilderland with 6:11 left until halftime. He received a pass right in front of the goal and fired a shot past the Colonie goalie.
Colonie answered right back with a goal from Garret Dollard. Sleasman assisted on the goal that came with 2:15 left in the first half.
Moore scored another goal for Guilderland with 32 seconds left before halftime. He cut to the goal and got a pass from Cahill and put the ball into the back of the net to give the Dutch a 7-5 lead.
Making strides
Colonie scored two unanswered goals in the third quarter to tie the game.
Sleasman scored with an assist from Dollard with 6:50 left in the frame and Sofia scored an unassisted goal with 4:47 left in the third stanza to tie the game, 7-7.
Colonie took the lead on a goal by Dollard with 1:51 left. Sofia assisted on the tally.
Guilderland answered right back with a goal by Moore with 1:38 left in the period. Connell assisted on the goal.
“They did what they what they were supposed to,” McConahgy said of Colonie. “They drew the double team, passed the ball, then passed it again and got goals. That is what you’re supposed to do on offense. They did it; we didn’t.”
McConaghy wished his team held possession of the ball more in Tuesday’s contest.
“We weren’t taking care of the ball,” he said. “We work on it every day for a quarter of practice.”
And practice is all the Dutchmen have done so far this season.
“Five weeks of practice stinks,” McConaghy said. “It’s still a game and it’s a win. Last year, we played our first game and we lose. We rode well and our man-up was two-for-two and man-down was two-for-two. We also got a lot of ground balls.”
McConaghy also admitted that Colonie has some talent on its side as well.
“D.J. O’Connell and Dollard are good players,” he said. “They could start on a lot of teams around here and be the best players.”
The Dutch will take a lot from their opening game, and work toward their next contest Thursday against Shenendehowa.
“We will make strides towards our next opponent,” McConaghy said. “We have three games next week and three the following week. We’ll continue to make strides every single day and compete every single day like it’s a game.”
For openers, Lady Dutch beat two top teams
By Tim Matteson
GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland girls’ lacrosse team opened its season last week with two wins against two of the top teams in the state.
The Lady Dutch beat Section II rival Niskayuna, 14-5, in a contest played at Union College.
Danielle Tetreault led the scoring with five goals and two assists. Courtney Davis added three goals; Jen Madsen had two goals and two assists; and Amanda Best added a goal and an assist.
Chelsey Newman, Kristen Cagino, and Abbey Fashouer each had a goal.
Amanda Santandrea had four saves in goal.
Guilderland opened up with a 9-4 halftime lead.
“I thought we played an excellent game, especially for it being our first game and against an excellent team like Niskayuna,” Coach Gary Chatnik said. “We controlled the midfield. Amanda, Bridget Daley, Chelsey, Kristen, and Ali DeRizzo played the entire field well both offensively and defensively. They were aggressive and played smart.”
The attack accounted for 11 of the 14 goals.
“Courtney, Jen, Danielle, and Abbey really moved the ball and made good decisions,” Chatnik said. “They are an excellent unit.”
“Unsung heroes”
Niskayuna was only able to get nine shots on goal.
“Our defense will be the unsung heroes this year,” Chatnik said. “They will not make the newspapers, but we as a team know how good they are. Any team that allows a power like Niskayuna only nine shots on goal is doing something right.”
Niskayuna is the defending Class B Section II champion.
Lauren Cagino, Amy Branchini, Corinne Chatnik, Marissa Page, and Casey Gerety make up the starting defense. And Santandrea was solid in goal.
“Amanda had a good night,” Chatnik said. “I thought she made the saves she had to. It was a nice way to get her career going.”
Powerhouse doused
Guilderland traveled to Westchester County to play Section I power Lakeland-Panas High School, which was ranked number two in New York State last year and beat Guilderland in last year’s state regionals.
Guilderland jumped out to a 7-1 halftime lead and won, 10-5.
Newman led the scoring with three goals. Fashouer added two goals and two assists.
Daley had two goals; Tetreault and Best each had a goal and an assist; and Cagino added a goal.
Santandrea made five saves in goal for the Lady Dutch.
“This was another good win against a perennial state powerhouse,” Chatnik said. “It shows that we are playing with maturity and confidence. We jumped out quickly, then they made a small run in the second half, but we made a couple of big plays and put it away.”
Two big plays protected the lead.
Lakeland had a fast-break opportunity with a score of 8-5, but Corinne Chatnik made a stop and Cagino picked up the ground ball and Guilderland went down to score.
Lakeland got the ensuing draw, then an eight-meter penalty shot, on which Santandrea made a great save.
“Those were two big plays among many,” Chatnik said “but they stood out because Lakeland was making a run. The defense did a nice job — they only got 10 shots on goal.
“Amy, Marissa, and Casey had solid games along with Lauren and Corinne,” Chatnik added. “Amanda keeps getting better in goal. We were poised throughout.”
Guilderland’s scoring was potent again.
“It does not have to be any one person scoring for us,” Chatnik said. “Everyone can score on our team. This game, the midfield had a great day scoring. They played excellent and what is not seen is the defense along their field play. I thought Amanda, Bridget, Chelsey, and Kristen had huge games. Abbey ran a lot of midfield. They are coming together as a unit.”
Even though the attack did not score a lot, Chatnik was pleased.
“Our attack does more than score,” he said. “They do not let the ball out of the zone and they distribute the ball well. I thought Courtney, Jen, and Danielle had excellent games — they are hard to stop.”
Guilderland jumps right back into the competition with games against Suburban Council powers Shaker, Saratoga, and Bethlehem this week.
Beautiful day, play for Dutch’s first game
By Tim Matteson
GUILDERLAND — It was a beautiful opening day for the Guilderland baseball team.
In their first game of the season on Tuesday, the Dutchmen scored seven runs and followed the strong pitching of senior C.J. Sohl to beat Albany, 7-1.
“It’s a good start,” Sohl said after the game. “It’s nice to get out and wear short sleeves.”
“It was a beautiful day to play,” echoed Guilderland Coach Doug LaValley. “We played a pretty nice game especially since it was our opening game of the year.”
Sohl pitched six innings and gave up just three hits and one base on balls. He struck out eight batters in posting the win.
“C.J. was pretty good,” LaValley said. “But he is still not where we need him to be.”
Kyle LeClair pitched a scoreless seventh inning and the game ended on a beautifully turned double play.
With a runner on first, an Albany batter hit a ground ball to Guilderland second baseman Ivan Plata. Plata, who made a couple of nice plays in the inning, flipped the ball to sophomore shortstop Jimmy Quinn who then relayed the ball to first baseman Andrew Simpson to complete the double play and end the game.
“The middle infield is great,” Sohl said. “That was a nice way to end the game.”
“We hit pretty well”
The Dutchmen also swung the bats well in their first contest of the year.
Guilderland scored a run in the first inning, one in the third frame, two in the fourth, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth.
Senior centerfielder Nick Ranalli doubled and scored two runs for the Dutchmen. Junior Matt Roth had two singles and drove in a run.
Catcher Pat Gareau singled and drove in two runs for Guilderland. Simpson singled and scored a run, Josh Lochner singled, and Quinn doubled for the Dutchmen.
“We put the ball in play,” LaValley said. “We cut down on strikeouts. We focus on that in practice. We’ve been working on that.”
“We hit pretty well,” Sohl said. “Jimmy had a few hits. We didn’t reach our goal of eight, but seven runs is good.”
LaValley was pleased with the way his team played in its first contest of the spring.
“We played well all the way around,” the coach said. “It was a total team effort.”
“It was solid all around,” Sohl added. “I don’t think we committed any errors. And our offense was fine.”
Sohl was close; the Dutch had just one error in the game.
Tuesday’s result was one of the many wins the Dutchmen hope to get as they try to defend their Class AA Section II title.
“We are starting to come together a little more,” Sohl said. “This is just the first step. We got the first game down.”
Merlis, Moeller win 14th Rabbit Ramble
GUILDERLAND — The 14th Annual Rabbit Ramble Four-Mile Charity Run and Walk took place on March 22 at Guilderland High School.
Josh Merlis, 26, of Albany won the race with a time of 21:11. The top woman runner was Allison Moeller, 32, of Albany with a time of 27:15.
In the top three overall for the men were Anthony Giviano, 28, of Albany who finished in 21:19 and Matthew Haringer, 24, of Schenectady who finished third with a time of 21:30. Melissa Bredice, 19, of Colonie was the second female to cross the finish line with a time of 27:41. Kristin Olson, 38, of Vestal was third in a time of 27:57.
Age-group winners
Trey Coryell of Ravena was the top runner in the 12-and-under group. Robert Tobias was second and Nathan Feenan was third. Courtney Tedeschi of Westerlo was the top girl in the age group.
Alney Tobias of Lansingburgh was first in the 13-to-16 age group. C.J. Sousis of Troy was second and Dalijah Demand of Troy was third.
Kate Reynolds of Voorheesville was the top female finisher in the group. She was followed by Sadie Schroeter of Schenectady and Alex Vattimo of Albany.
Jeffrey Moller of Altamont was first in the 17-to-19 age category. Matt Blair of Troy was second and Sam Dikeman of Altamont was third.
Ashley Roche of Fairport was the top female runner in the category.
Tom O’Grady of Albany was first in the 20-to-24 age group. Pat Cullen of Albany was second and Eric Barnes of Duanesburg was third.
Erinn Flaherty of Clifton Park was the top female in the group. Jaclyn O’Brien of Buffalo was second and Dorothea Joyce of Amsterdam was third.
Tyson Evensen of West Sand Lake topped the 25-to-29 age category. Matthew Fryer of Loudonville was second and Nicholas Zorda of Schenectady was third.
Carrie Barown of Albany was the first female to cross the finish line in the age group. Melissa Brinkman of Cohoes was second and Mary Jane MacPherson of Latham was third.
Aaron Knobloch of Mechanicville was first in the 30-to-34 age group. Brian Northan of Guilderland was second and Todd Smith of Voorheesville was third.
Jessica Hageman of Schenectady was the first female finisher in the age group. Jessica Mitchell of Albany was second and Deanne Webster of Albany was third.
Bouazza Abidi of Kingston was first in the 35-to-39 age category. Dan Mahoney of Catskill was second and Andrew Sattinger of Delmar was third.
Penny Tisko of Voorheesville was the top female in the category. Dana Peterson of Voorheesville was second and Sally Drake of Albany was third.
Edward Hampston of Voorheesvlle was first in the 40-to-44 age group. Gary Longhi of Coxsackie was second and Daniel Morgan was third.
Macia Harrison was the first female in the age group to cross the finish line. Judy Seery of Altamont was second and Michelle Griffin of Schoharie was third.
Mark Warner of Guilderland was first in the 45-to-49 age group. James Roche of Fairport was second and John Kinnicutt of Menands was third.
Janice Phoenix of Schenectady was the top female in the age group. Joanne Nolette of Resselaer was second and Sharon Fellner of Schenectady was third.
Richard Raux of East Aurora was first in the 50-to-54 age category. Steve Vnuk of Delmar was second and Bob Maswick of Scotia was third.
Susan Burns of Delmar was the first female in the age group. Barbara Sorrell of Delmar was second and Lynne DeRusso of East Berne was third.
Kenneth Klapp of Schenectady was first in the 55-to-59 age group. Bob Ellison of Slingerlands was second and Paul Forbes of Colonie was third.
Katherine Ambrosio of Delmar was the top female in the age group. Sue Nealon of Troy was second and Gail Hein of Altamont was third.
Charles Trimarchi of Albany topped the 60-to-64 age category. Jesse Dinkin of Schenectady was second and Richard Westfall of Schenectady was third.
Susan Wong of Glenmont was the top female in the age group. Ginny Pezzula of Colonie was second.
Frank Klose of Castleton was first in the 65-to-69 age group. Kermit Cadrette of Rome was second and Jim Hotaling of Niverville was third.
Sibyl Jacobson of Canaan was the top female finisher in the age category. Diane Christie of Merrick was second.
Dick Green of East Chatham topped the 70-to-79 age group. Donald Wilken of Slingerlands was second and Jim Tierney of Albany was third.
Mike Bartholomew of Colonie was first in the 80-plus category. Regina Tumidajewicz of Amsterdam was the top woman runner in the group.
The walk division was won by Pete Wells of Ulster Park. Frederick Phiffer of Greenwich was second and Leo Amari of Port Ewen was third.
Barbara Dalzell of Milan was the top female walker. Susan O’Grady of Albany was second Malika Drexel of Delanson was third.