by Ryan Mosher
The Hoosick Falls boys soccer team continued its late season run in Monday’s Class C quarterfinal sectional game. The red hot Panthers, seeded #13 entering sectionals, have already knocked off #4 Galway in penalty kicks in the first round. In the quarterfinals Hoosick Falls was matched up against #5 seed Waterford from the CHVL.
The Panthers were up to the challenge and drew first blood minutes into the game. PJ Priore took a corner kick from the left side, placing it right into the box. The ball bounced around before Drew Phillips put it into the back of the net with 35:34 left on the clock. The Panthers continued to have scoring chances, keeping the Waterford defense on their toes. The second goal came from Chris LaCroix with 21 minutes left to play. Priore sent a ball across the middle, but the Waterford defender could not clear it, and the ball ended up right in front of LaCroix who fired it past the goalie.
Hoosick Falls was not finished there though. Six minutes later Priore took another corner kick, curling it past the goalie and into the net for the 3-0 lead. The Panthers continued to outshoot the Fordians in the first half, keeping control of the game.
In the second half, Waterford came back with a vengeance. Ten minutes into the half Mark Cahrenger took a pass from Fred Breen and scored to make it 3-1. Twenty seconds later the Fordians really put the pressure on Hoosick Falls as Mark Cahrenger took the ball past the entire defense on the right side and fired a shot past a diving goalie.
With the score 3-2, Waterford continued to apply pressure to the Panthers, but the defense and goalie Cody Gaines withstood the test. The Panthers move on to the semifinals to take on Maple Hill.
