Scotia edges Burnt Hills in A semis
STILLWATER, N.Y. » The two squads had to wait out a four-overtime contest in front of them. When it came time to get down to business Scotia-Glenville remained undefeated with a 2-0 win over Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in the second semifinal Monday night.
Junior midfielder Tanya Leggiero received the ball on the left sideline in the first 10 minutes of the second half, raced down the field and while being forced left by her defender managed to send the ball across the front of the goal to the far post for the first goal of the night.
With the game still hanging in the balance, especially after watching Averill Park and Moho-
nasen battle for more than 105 minutes tied, Leggiero found the back of the next once again with less than three minutes left to propel the Tartans into the Section II final.
“There is not relaxing until that second goal went in,” Mohonasen Coach Lise Williams said. “One is nice, but it’s not relaxing until you at least had that second one in since Smith almost got the one on the breakaway. I wasn’t relaxed until we got the second one.”
Undefeated Scotia-Glenville wasn’t deterred by the physical play that Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake brings after decades of competing in the Suburban Council regular season each year and at times, took advantage of its ability to move players off the ball.
“That was a quality game, both directions,” Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake coach Brian Bold said. “After the first half and you sit there and I told them at halftime that felt like a Suburban game, it felt like what we do day in and day out.”
The fourth-seeded Spartans (6-11-1) just couldn’t find a way to stop Leggiero who used her skilled footwork to beat multiple defenders up and down the field to create her own scoring chances.
“That kid would thrive in the Suburban and do very, very well,” Bold said. “(Sydnee Smith) I thought we did a nice job of containing her, but (Leggiero) she had her way today.
“It was like that old adage with Michael Jordan said; the goal probably looked four times as large as it normally does to her. We talked about it at halftime; she’s not looking to pass. If she gets inside 25 yards it’s going on frame.”
Down by a goal late in the contest Bold had to gamble and it allowed Leggiero to again get in and add the insurance goal.
“The second goal was on me whether you lose by one or lose by two,” Bold said. “We pushed bodies forward and left Mollie Boone who is a fantastic player alone in the middle and she got burned because she was playing two (defenders). That last one is on me, but at that point in time we’re still down that goal and looking to score.”
No. 1 seeded Scotia will take on Mohonasen Friday night at Lansingburgh High School for the Class A title and like the majority of coaches throughout New York State, Bold had to reflect on this year’s squad and look ahead.
“We’ve got a group of seniors that have been with this group for a long time,” Bold said. “It’ll be the last group that knows what it’s like to go further than the semis.
“For 11 years in a row we were sectional champs and it’s very, very hard to keep that level. I’m proud of this group; I look forward to what comes down the road. I’ll miss our seniors, but hats off to Scotia.”