EARLY LESSONS FOR YOUNG BLUE STREAKS
Niskayuna rolls past Saratoga boys lax, 17-7
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » It was a quick start for both squads in the cold and wind on the Skidmore College campus, but proved to be a successful outing for both squads despite Saratoga Springs boys lacrosse falling to Section II perennial powerhouse Niskayuna Thursday afternoon, 17-7.
The Blue Streaks (2-2) overall stayed with the Silver Warriors (20) early on, taking a3-1 lead that eventually evaporated late in the second quarter and Niskayuna continued to apply pressure and shots on goalie Ryan Flemming for the non-league win.
“We’ve got a young team, a lot of youth,” Saratoga Springs coach Joe Hayes said. “We’ve got three attack men that don’t have any varsity experience really.
“We have a ninth-grader out there that’s playing on the second line. We’ve got some younger guys and about six or eight seniors, most of them are on defense, defense and goalie is where our strength is this year. We’re
young and inexperienced at the offensive end.”
The Blue Streaks leaned on Flemming, turning back 21 shots in the contest.
“They’re never going to stop, that’s how they play, they won’t let up no matter what,” Flemming said. “We just slowed down a little bit, they started pulling away a little bit, a couple goals, and we started to get our heads down.”
Saratoga was riding an emotional and offensive high, leading Niskayuna, 3-1 and then answering each goal through the fifth tally for each before the Silver Warriors took over.
“Early on we were communicating very well, it wasn’t just me, it was the whole team and it wasn’t a single effort by me,” Flemming said. “It was the whole defense, the whole offense; we were playing really well in general.”
Saratoga’s Ryan Flatley led the Blue Streaks with two goals and an assist in the non-league tilt, Matt Shamberger hit the back of the net twice with Will Fox, Charlie Beck and Graham Patton each tallying a goal.
“It felt good, we hung with them, we put a couple in,” Ryan Flatley said. “Maybe our defense got tired, our offense got tired, and they just inched away, bit by bit, goal by goal. We saw one goal go in and then another goal in. That was a good team, but I think we could have hung with them a little better.”
Flatley appreciated the effort, but also saw the flaws in the Blue Streaks play.
“We have to work on ground balls too, that was a big part of it too. Even when Jordan (Mesquita) tied up the face-off guy, we wouldn’t come up with ground balls and that’s what hurt us, time and possession,” Flatley said. “They had a lot of shots on Ryan Flemming, he’s a good goalie, but when you put up that many shots there’s nothing we can do about it.
With the Blue Streaks just cleared to play on the grass field on campus and a week spent on the Skidmore College turf, the lessons learned from the Niskayuna loss came in real time against a Suburban Council opponent.
“This has been our second big test of the season,” Hayes said. “We went to Syracuse and played a tough Liverpool team, we were down 6-4 going into the fourth quarter and we tried to play some pressure things to make some turnovers and create some goals and it cost us goals. It’s part of the learning curve.
“This team has to improve top to bottom, from clearing, to do some different things in there, show some things we haven’t shown in the past. Overall I’m pleased with the effort; it was a good half, but that just shows our youth, where they don’t stick together when times get tough. We’re trying to teach as we go.”