Even Sabres in disbelief after wild rally
Schalmont scores four late goals to win title in thriller
Schalmont trailed by three goals with 28:29 left. That didn’t keep junior forward Hamza Noor from screaming encouragement at his teammates, or yelling at the Sabres’ crowd to pick up the noise level during the Class B sectional final.
It wasn’t swagger, but rather gratitude. And Noor’s convictions paid off Monday with a wild 4-3 win against Ichabod Crane. He even knocked in the golden goal about midway through the first overtime.
“I know I kept screaming ‘We’re not done. We’re not done,’ ” Noor said. “Really, I needed this team. This team has helped me survive.”
Noor quietly told a gaggle of reporters vaguely about some personal issues that have shadowed him lately. He declined to get into further details.
But it was clear that extending the season beyond 80 minutes — the tying goal came with 1:19 left in regulation — then getting the season extended further meant the world.
Noor kissed the La Salle Institute artificial turf after Devin Renaud tied the game on a sweet header.
Talk about sudden changes.
Renaud, a freshman, was on the junior varsity until sectionals started.
Then he scored the first Schalmont goal in this game, with about 28 minutes left, after Ichabod Crane’s Gio Gomez had scored the first three.
The Riders had a 1-0 halftime lead after Gomez capitalized on a long turnover. It was 2-0 early in the second half after a Gomez blast, then 3-0 with 281/2 minutes left after his penalty kick.
Ryan Edwards followed with a header when 22:59 remained to cut the margin to 3-2.
As tension built, Schalmont became quicker. It looked more like the team that won both Colonial Council meetings against Ichabod.
“I know what we’re capable of. And looking at that scoreboard, down 3-0 — that wasn’t my team,” Schalmont coach Vito Urbano said. “I was just hoping we had enough time to show everybody.”
An entertaining, seesaw game included big shots and saves in both directions.
Even trailing 3-0, Schalmont produced great chances. A header clanked off the post a minute after Ichabod had scored its first goal.
A few blasts sailed wide as the game wore on in the second half.
Trailing 3-2, Schalmont controlled field position the last five minutes.
The leverage paid off with Renaud’s second varsity goal with less than two minutes left.
“(Ichabod) was lucky we didn’t win it before overtime,” Urbano said. “That’s how intense these guys were playing the last 25 minutes. It was just a totally different team.”
Schalmont, which lost to Ichabod in the sectional title game last year, won its first crown since 2015. Urbano pointed to the unique spirit of this year’s team by bringing up a 2-1 win against Schuylerville. The Sabres trailed 1-0 and suffered a red card with five minutes left. Down a player, they scored two goals to win in regulation.
Of course, rallying against the perennially strong Riders is an entirely different challenge.
“It looked like we weren’t going to make it there for a little bit,” Renaud said. “But we kept positive. This is a great group of guys, and that showed in how we stuck together.”
For all of the in-game talk about believing, the Sabres generally ran around in disbelief after Noor punched in the game-winning goal. Noor accepted a pass from Ryan Edwards right in front of the net, and his shot rattled off the bottom of the cross bar.
A scramble ensued as the ball didn’t stay in the goal very long. Noor even tried frantically to get a second shot off before play was halted.
The lead official had to consult with his sideline colleague, who had been standing on the end line, to confirm the score. After a wait of about a minute, the signal was made that Schalmont’s rally had been completed.
“I can’t tell you how glad I am that we’re still playing,” Noor said. “It means everything.”