Scott’s two goals propel Burnt Hills past Columbia, 3-2
BURNT HILLS, NY » It was as much of a back- and-forth matchup as they come, with the momentum changing constantly until Burnt Hills went ahead for the final time late in the second half.
“We just worked really well together. I stressed to the guys that we really need to work as a team unit and not as a bunch of individuals and that’s really what they did today,” said Burnt Hills coach Adam Cohen. “They worked together, they had each other’s backs and they played a really smart game.”
Scott Park, who scored twice, was the hero for the
Spartans, who came out on top of the Blue Devils by a final score of 3-2.
Brady Bell got Columbia on the board first when he drove through the Spartan’s defense to put the Blue Devil’s up 1- 0. Scott answered back immediately, tying the game at 1-1. That score would hold as the game went into halftime.
“They had just scored and we’re trying to get back in the game. After they score your head’s down, so I was just trying to get everyone back up, get back in the game, and I was in the right spot to get the shot in,” Scott said on his first goal of the afternoon.
Ten minutes into the second half, Burnt Hills took the lead when Stephen Zarub scored off an assist from Owen Mueller. Columbia wouldn’t be out of it for long. Just after the second half’s mask break, the Blue Devils tied the contest at two when when Cameron Mingle put one in from long range.
Through the back-andforth affair, the Spartans were figuring out some technical changes that they’d been working out in practice. Cohen was happy with what he saw.
“We changed the attacking patterns a little bit and we changed the way we swing from offense to defense. We worked on how to manage the clock a little differently, from when we’re up as opposed to when we’re down,” he said.
Even though Burnt Hills goalkeeper Ryan Clute allowed two tough goals to get past him, he is themain reason the Spartans were able to stay in the game, as he held Columbia at two the rest of the way.
“Ryan is a fantastic keeper. He’s a great shotstopper. He takes it personally when a goal goes in, but he’s shown great maturity this year and done a great job for us. I’m really proud of the kid,” Cohen said.
After Columbia tied the score at two, Scott showed up one more time, just under four minutes after the game was tied, to give Burnt Hills the lead once again.
“I saw the spacing behind their defender and it was a great ball from Owen Hughes and I has just enough space to touch it around their keeper,” Scott explained. “We really kept out heads inthe game. Staying focused is a big thing for us and we were able to do that today.”
Cohen described Park Scott as a do-it- all type player for Burnt Hills, who he has been able to rely on in many areas this season.
“Park is definitely a contributor every single game. As we’ve moved him around into several different roles, he’s contributed no matter where we’ve put him, defensively and on our attacks.”