GUILDERLAND — It was a good week for the Guilderland girls’ soccer team.

The Lady Dutch won two games and tied one. The tie is being treated as a bigger deal than the wins.

Guilderland beat Shaker and Mohonasen and tied Shenendehowa, a team that was ranked first in the country by an on-line soccer site.
"Shen was one of the most exciting games we’ve put together in the past few years," said Guilderland Coach Barb Newton. "Jen Mihok was the catalyst. We moved some people around and moved her to midfield. She scored on her first shot on goal and we needed that. The whole team played at an upper level.
"The game was equal," Newton added. "The second half was in our favor. We had a lot of opportunities. We actually had the game won."

Guilderland had a 3-2 lead with 1:50 left in the second half before Shen tied it and forced overtime.
"We did not let our heads down," Newton said. "We still had opportunities and they had opportunities. Both teams were fighting through exhaustion."
"It was a very big game" Mihok said. "Like our coach said, ‘It was a memorable week.’"
"It was pretty insane," Kayla Best added. "Our fans were going crazy. Everyone was pumped up."

Mihok had a goal and an assist against Shen and Abby Fashour and Best each added goals. Best’s goal put the Lady Dutch ahead.

Guilderland was down 2-0 at halftime before Mihok scored on a penalty kick, Fashour tied the game, and Best put them ahead with her tally.
"It definitely was a confidence booster," Newton said. "We have a whole new crew, but this is more exciting. We knew they were a top team. We knew they were number-two in the country."

On the day of the game, Shen moved to number-one.
"In the first half, we were slow," Mihok said. "But we scored our first goal and we thought ‘Oh wow! We can do this.’ We were down 2-0. In the second half, we came out like it was 0-0. We picked up our energy."
"After our first goal, we picked it up," Best agreed. "When Jen made that penalty kick, we knew we could come back and beat them."

Beating Mohon and Shaker

Guilderland followed up the tie with a 6-2 win over Mohonasen last Thursday.
"I’m surprised we scored a lot against Mohonasen," Newton said. "They are a tough team."

Mihok had three goals to pace the Lady Dutch. Krystal Myers, Best, and Cristina Rodriguez each scored one.

The Dutch beat Shaker, 1-0, on Saturday.
"Shaker was a battle," Newton said. "They were undefeated and it wasn’t our best game of the year."

Jackie DeLuise scored for the Lady Dutch on a break-away goal.
"We were able to walk away from it with a win," Newton said. "We had other opportunities to score. We had a good break-away goal. We had a lot of chances and couldn’t capitalize."

The tie with Shenendehowa should go a long way for the season. It played a big part in the past week.
"Shen was a catalyst for the week," Newton said. "It was exciting. We had a great crowd and got a lot of support."

Next up for the Dutch was Bethlehem on Wednesday. Early in the season, the Eagles handed the Dutch their only loss in a non-league game.
"Hopefully we come away with another big win for us," Newton said. "Shen was definitely our best soccer. Shaker was a total team bad day."

Moving Mihok from her defensive sweeper position to the midfield provided a spark for the Dutch. Ninth-grader Amanda Best took over Mihok’s old position. Guilderland has been playing without one of its top scorers from last year, Bianca Germain, who is out with an injury.
"She had a couple of break-away stops," Newton said of Best. "We are waiting for Bianca to return. We are moving people around. Kayla moved to the front line."

After Wednesday’s game, the Lady Dutch play Colonie on Thursday, a game that was postponed from Monday. Guilderland then plays at Columbia next Wednesday before playing at home on Oct. 7 and for Senior Night on Oct. 11.
"We take each week and look at it," Mihok said. "We don’t worry about the past week or the week ahead."
"We did last week," Kayla Best said. "But we want to push forward and concentrate on what we need to do with Bethlehem and Colonie."