Team has eye on the prize
Schalmont girls’ soccer team’s win over Voorheesville step towards Colonial Council tournament slot.
Ryan Fries watched his Schalmont girls’ soccer team squander some early scoring chances Tuesday afternoon. He felt his charges would eventually calm down against Voorheesville, and that is exactly what the Sabres did.
Playing its third consecutive contest against an elite Colonial Council opponent, Schalmont took 17 minutes to finally break through on a goal from sophomore Gabriela Amoroso and went on to produce a 4-2 victory over Voorheesville to improve to 4-0 in league play.
“We had to settle down and kind of take advantage of opportunities that were presented to them,” Fries said.
“It was a big win. We knew we needed this one,” Schalmont senior midfielder Teghan Older said. “This just sets us up for the league tournament.”
Schalmont took a significant step toward securing one of the four slots available for the season-ending Colonial Council league tournament, having previously defeated Mohonasen (3-2) and Holy Names (2-1). Without sectionals or states being contested, that league playoff event is a motivating factor for the Sabres.
“I am the type of person that likes a championship and wants to win,” Schalmont sophomore standout Simone Cassano said. “I was excited that we get to work towards something.”
Schalmont was unable to put together its passes up front early on, despite continuously working the ball forward against the Blackbirds (5-1, 5-1).
“Very frustrating,” Older said. “Once we got that first one, we got our momentum.”
Fries stressed composure, and Amoroso’s first goal of the season with 23:47 left in the
first half Tuesday set the stage for the Sabres to pour on the pressure. It took only 150 more seconds to add to the lead as Cassano made it 2-0.
The Sabres continued to press forward and it paid dividends again with 1:57 remaining before halftime when Older’s corner kick lofted into the box, where Cassano headed it past Voorheesville goalie Cheyenne Shufelt for a 3-0 advantage. The goals were the fourth and fifth of the season for Cassano.
“We had this motto in our head where we said, ‘we will play hard, smart and together.’ It kind of stuck,” Cassano said. “Me and Teghan looked at each other and connected a few times and put them in the back of the net. We put a little thing together where I looped around and came back. I have that mentality where I want to put a header in. I looped around. Teghan looked me right in the eye and found me. The ball went right to my head. We practice it.”
“Well played on their part. Poorly played on our part,” Voorheesville coach Tim Kelley said regarding the Older-to-cassano connection on the third Schalmont goal.
“She loves the game, she loves her team and she does it for herself,” Fries said of Cassano. “She is one of those players you want to be part of your program.”
Voorheesville refused to go quietly. Freshman Caroline Dolin cut the deficit to 3-1 when she beautifully curved a corner kick high into the net.
Schalmont junior striker Gianna Viscusi tallied her sixth goal of the season with 17:27 left to regain a three-goal cushion for her team, but Voorheesville senior defender Megan Romansky scored her second goal on a brilliant long distance strike four minutes later.
“Definitely, I am happy with that,” Cassano said of the final result. “We pushed through, got the early lead and it was all we needed.”
Fries was pleased to see his squad settle in and take control of the game once gaining the lead. He said the scope of the contest in the context of reaching the league tournament was not lost on the Sabres.
“They love to compete and they love to compete for something,” Fries said.