Fast answer boosts Raiders
Mechanicville gets winner 21 seconds after tying goal
The fans and bench players supporting the Catholic Central girls’ soccer starters were still celebrating a tying goal from Emily Drake Thursday when Mechanicville’s Jada Brown sprang into action.
The senior, annoyed at seeing the Crusaders score on a penalty kick, quickly dashed down the right sideline shortly after the Red Raiders gained possession. She crossed the ball to the left for sophomore teammate Navaeh D’A loia, who pounded the ball into net just 21 seconds after CCHS tied the score at 1.
“In that moment, some of my teammates’ heads (went) down,” Brown said regarding Drake’s goal. “I knew from being in this sport for so long, I needed to carry my teammates, pick them back up and tell them this game is not over and we have a lot of time left. By doing that, I saw all of the smiles of my team
mates come up.”
Mechanicville completely controlled the second half, and used late goals from D’aloia and Patty Snyder to post a 4-1 victory in Class B first-round sectional play.
“These sectional games are not about the seeding, it is about who wants to step on the field and wants it more than the opponent,” Brown said. “We knew we were only guaranteed 80 minutes, so if you don’t go out and give 100 percent, you might not have it tomorrow.”
The Red Raiders (13-3-1), now 12-0-1 in their past 13 outings, return to action Saturday in the quarterfinals against No. 10 seed Johnstown. After a scoreless tie, the Lady Bills edged Catskill 2-1 in penalty kicks Thursday for the chance to face Mechanicville.
The Red Raiders were going along well with a 1-0 lead, established on a goal by Hannah Garone, until CCHS striker Teagan Breton was brought down in the box.
Drake took the penalty kick and calmly slipped a shot inside the left post.
Seconds later, the Red Raiders were celebrating D’aloia’s first of two goals.
“I knew we needed a goal. I was not going to let this be the senior’s last game,” D’A loia said.
The assist was Brown’s teamleading 14th this season.
“They basically just answered back. They didn’t like what happened,” Mechanicville co-coach Val D’aloia said.
“If Jada doesn’t do that, then the pressure falls back on us and it becomes a different game,” Mechanicville co-coach Karl Gerstenberger said.
Despite not scoring its third goal until there was 12:44 remaining, Mechanicville controlled things completely throughout the second half.
Brown, Navaeh D’aloia and
Brynn Murphy took turns creating threatening chances against the Crusaders (5-10-2).
Eventually, Brown crossed the ball from the right and it went over D’aloia’s head. She took her time chasing down the ball, turned quickly and lofted a shot over the head of CCHS goalie Maddie Finn for her ninth goal this season.
“It was a great feeling,” Navaeh D’aloia said. “It was a great cross by Jada. We all work well together.”
Snyder’s first goal this season came with 5:00 left when she converted a pass from Murphy.
“They are a good team. They played very well out there and they gave us a run,” Gerstenberger said of CCHS. “We had to battle and it did not come easy until the end.”
The only game Mechanicville did not win since starting 1-3 came in its reg ular-season finale with a 3-3 tie against Stillwater, winner of the 2018 Class C state title. It was a vast departure from the 5-1 verdict the Red Raiders dropped to the Warriors on Sept. 16.
“That built confidence for us, seeing that they were state champions last year. It was huge,” Navaeh D’aloia said. “We’ve come a long way this season. We lost some games early in the season, but we grew from that.”
“We are bonding and clicking,” Brown said. “We understand each other. We really want it this year.”