by Ben Gaines
The seventh-seeded Hoosick Falls Boys Varsity Soccer Team loaded the bus this past Saturday to make the trek to Colonie for the Section II Class C Title Match against fifth-seeded Maple Hill. Hill had won matches against #12 Berne-Knox, #4 Mekeel Christian and #1 Lake George to qualify for the finals with a record of 12-7-0. HFCS won matches against #10 Voorheesville, #2 Galway and #14 Stillwater in the first round, quarter and semifinals, respectively to earn a record of 15-5-0. Game time saw the mercury warm to 42° and a cross field wind of 10 mph.
“Offense sells tickets, but defense wins Championships” is often heard from the Panthers, and judging from the huge crowd, both teams had worked hard all season. The Panthers, predicted to lose 4-0, took to the field with a let’s get to it attitude. Captain Cody Gaines’ pregame interview was simple. “We ARE moving on today!”
Hill had a slight advantage in possession of the ball during the first half. It was boys soccer, shoulder to shoulder, bump and grind, high jumping headers, till the whistle blows. The Panther starting defense, left back freshman Tyler Gaines, center back senior Taylor Baker, center back senior Cody Gaines and right back sophomore Justin Gaines, kept the shots on goal limited by stopping countless runs and through balls while the offensive line of seniors Tyler Carr and Chris LaCroix had several shots on the Wildcats’ goal.
The backup keeper, sophomore Noah Chani, was in goal, where he has been for the latter half of the season, to put the “fast and daunting” Cody Gaines onto the pitch. Sophomore Max Haar, junior Drew Phillips, senior Jason Woods and senior Evan Phillips played the scrappy midfield position. Sophomore Tyler Rondo entered the game to replace Woods and move Justin Gaines to center back and Cody Gaines to defensive midfielder during the first half to counter the Wildcats’ senior #10 Jake Johnson. The Panther coach, Mike Young, made strategic substitutions to rest injured and tired players that would reenter the game after chomping at the bit during their few minutes of rest. Junior Alex LaBarge and freshman Alex Krause were heavily used relief players.
Before long the whistle blew, and the board was all zeros. The second half saw both teams restart the game with determination, working to be the one to score first. The fans rallied their teams on with passionate cheering to no avail. The clock ticked down to end regular play with the score tied at zero.
The teams retook the field for 15 minutes of overtime Golden Goal (Sudden Victory) soccer. The intensity was dialed back a little, likely due to the fast pace of the first 80 minutes. Both teams did their best to move the ball up the pitch until the first overtime ended. In the second Golden Goal overtime there was only 6:30 left when Cody Gaines pounced for the Panthers, seizing possession of a loose ball. He carried it up the field and split the defenders with a through pass, just over the head of Chris LaCroix. Chris bounded, carrying the ball toward the far wing for an unwavering shot on the Wildcats’
goal. The diving keeper, sophomore Tommy Miller, deflected the ball toward the PK mark, where Tyler Carr sprang on the ball and lasered a shot into the back of the open goal. The Panther bench and fans stormed the field to surround the team in victorious celebration of their double overtime battle. “Heart,” “driven” and “resilient” are the words that best describe the Panthers who came to play the match that could have ended the high school soccer career for the seven graduating seniors. They left the pitch as champions. On Tuesday morning, November 6, the Panthers will load into a bus for the lengthy ride to Canton for the next game toward their season long goal of a New York State Title.