Shen claims top seed in Suburban Council with 3-1 comeback win over Burnt Hills
BURNTHILLS, NY » Shenendehowa and Burnt Hills nearly played to a scoreless first half, but everything changed when Shen was called for a handball near their own goal, resulting in the Spartans taking the lead on a penalty kick.
Something would cause a spark in the Plainsmen over the break, because they came out firing in the second half.
“Burnt Hills got the goal on the PK and that was a bad give- away off a handball on us. So in the second half coach told us that we needed one goal early and that would open the game up,” said Shen senior Brandon Barrett. “That’s exactly what happened and then we got two more.”
Shen would go on to win the game by a score of 3-1, on behalf of Barrett’s foot and Darien Espinal’s head.
Early in the second half, the Plainsmen tied the game up at one, when Barrett crossed the ball over the middle through Burnt Hills’ box to Espinal, where he got up and headed the ball in for the tie.
“I got after Darien at halftime a little and and said that I needed more from him. He wasn’t very active in the first half today and he stepped it up in the second half,” said Shen coach Jon Bain.
Itwas Barrettwhowould put Shen in the lead, shortly after thegamewas tied. Initially, Mark Makhatadze put a close-range shot on goal for Shen and Burnt Hills’ keeper Ryan Clute block it, but wasn’t able to hold onto the ball. Barrett followedupandput theball in the net for Shen’s lead.
“Brandon essentially put the team on his shoulders in the second half. His presence up front really made a big difference,” Bain said of Barrett, who is typically a defender.
Barrett has been practicing his abilities on both sides of the ball, for situations just like Saturday morning.
“I usually play centerback, but we practice in close games or if we’re behindI’llgouptopandtry to get some headers inand attack their backs a little bit,” he said.
Espinal added on some insurance for Shen, who put in their third goal off an assist from Ben Tymeson.
With the victory, the Shen boys clinched the top seed in the Suburban Council playoff tournament, whichbegins next Tuesday.
Due to the points system used for the standings, Shen was put in a positionwhereawingot them the covetedspot. CBAcould have clinched it yesterday, had they defeated Guilderland. Things fell into place for Shen, asGuilderlanddefeated CBA 3-2 on Friday evening.
“It didn’t change how we approached today’s game. We’re always going to play to win and make sure we’re doing things correctly heading into the postseason,” Bain said on the different scenarios going into the weekend. “There’s a lot of leadership and a lot of returners from last year’s team. They’re ready to go and ready to get after it.”
Barrett is also excitedfor his final shot to win a title for Shenon the soccer field.
“We feel ready. Every team in the top eight is good and we’re going to come out playing our best,” he said.
FINAL - SHENENDEHOWA 3, BURNT HILLS 1
Burnt Hills- Ballston Lake High School Burnt Hills, NY
BHBL 1- 0 - 1
Shen 0-3 - 3
FIRST HALF
BHBL, Park Scott goal (penalty kick) SECOND HALF
SHEN, Darien Espinal goal, Brandon Barrett assist
SHEN, Brandon Barrett goal, Mark Makhatadze assist
SHEN, Darien Espinal goal, Ben Tymeson assist