Greene wave sparks Shen
Junior erupts for first four goals of season after moving to striker
On a day when the nation found out who will be the next president of the United States, the Shenendehowa girls’ soccer team unleashed its ‘Greene’ party candidate upon Saratoga and that initiative helped produce a landslide victory.
Georgia Greene, who normally plays at center midfield for the Plainsmen, took full advantage of her opportunity to play striker and struck the Blue Streaks with four goals in leading Shenendehowa to a 9-1 win Saturday morning in Suburban Council Blue Division play.
“I feel like a different person today,” Greene said.
Through the season’s first eight games, Greene did not have a goal. As a sophomore, she tallied one goal for the Plainsmen (8-0-1 overall, 8-0-1 league). So what did her performance Saturday do for Greene?
“It literally felt like opening up the flood gates as coach (Holli) Nirsberger says to us,” Greene said. “The whole season, I had like a mental block. I couldn’t get any goals in games. I was doing well in practice, but couldn’t finish in games.”
Greene wasted little time getting things started for Shen as
she buried her first shot attempt with 31:31 left in the opening half. Brooke Delsignore, a junior striker, made it 2-0 just 47 seconds after Greene’s first goal.
Four minutes later, Shayla Smith was pulled down inside the goal box, setting up a penalty-kick scenario that Greene took. The junior was denied by Saratoga goalie Gywn
Long, yet that just proved to be a momentary delay until Greene eventually tallied her second goal with 22:39 remaining in the first half on an assist from senior defender Sophia Demura.
“I am usually a passer,” Greene said. “Once I scored once, it really helped me a lot.”
“She did an awesome job up there,” Nirsberger said of Greene. “She was creating a little bit of mayhem up top. She underestimates her ability to get high, hold the ball and let things progress around her. Her ability to get into space was remarkable today.”
Ella Mcdonald extended the lead to 4-0. After that score, Saratoga (3-6, 3-6) managed to succeed with an offside-trap strategy for the remainder of the opening half.
Following intermission, Delsignore notched her second goal of the game and Greene converted set-ups from Mirabel Brunell and Taylor Jordanais for her third and fourth goals — elevating Shen’s advantage to 7-0.
“We have been working really hard on our movement up top and all around,” Delsignore said. “It has paid off.”
Delsignore, who competes together with Greene during the offseason with the Albany Alleycats, believes Greene has always been capable of the offensive exploits she generated Saturday.
“To me, she looks very confident,” Delsignore said. “I have trust in her and I believe in her 100 percent. When I see her going for a ball, I try to get up there as fast as I can to do something with it.”
Maia Lavigne made it 8-0 when the senior midfielder pounded home a free kick from 25 yards out.
“We have been working on those set pieces. I thought, ‘Woo, we’ll take that one.’ That was a great shot by Maia,” Nirsberger said.
Shenendehowa will enter the final week of the Suburban Council regular season having scored 53 times and allowing just three — the most recent of which coming when Saratoga’s Mia Dibiasi converted a breakaway with 9:42 left.
“We’re putting the pieces of the puzzle together,” Nirsberger said. “Our defense is really organized right now. That is exciting.”
Shenendehowa closes its schedule with games against Niskayuna and Burnt Hills and then will compete in the eight-team Suburban Council tournament.
“We have gotten much better as the season has gone along,” Greene said. “We didn’t take this game lightly and we’ll be ready next week.”