by Steve Bradley
Cruising along like a well oiled machine, the Panthers are mowing them down. Last Thursday, facing a very good Hoosic Valley team on the Indians home field, HF earned a double overtime win. After the regulation game, with the score at 1 -1, the two teams moved into overtime.
During the first 10 minute overtime, neither team could find the net. In the second overtime, Justin Gaines found Drew Phillips with a pass that Phillips put between the posts for the win. Goaltender Noah Chani had 10 saves in the game.
On Monday the team traveled down to Chatham to face the Panthers in a non-league match. They returned with a 3 – 1 win. Drew Phillips scored twice and Justin Archambault once, his first varsity goal, to bring home the win.
On Wednesday the team came home to play Tamarac at Delurey Field. During the game, the momentum shifted from one end of the field to the other. The first half was played more in the Panther end of the field, with the second half having the Panthers more aggressive and putting more pressure on Tamarac on the Bengals side of midfield. The closest either team came to scoring was with five minutes left when a long Panther shot bounced off the crossbar. After the regulation time had expired, the Panthers found themselves in another overtime contest.
One ten minute overtime period settled nothing. The second overtime, with each team having their chances, was almost complete, and it looked like it would end in a tie. With 32 seconds left in the game, Max Haar found Eric Kaufmann on the right side of the goal and Kaufmann booted the ball in. The Panthers all jumped for joy and put another notch in the W column.
This week’s schedule has the Panthers busing up to Schuylerville on Friday, October 4, for a 6:30 pm start. On Tuesday, October 8, the team will face off against Greenwich on Delurey Field at the Hoosick Soccer Complex at 4:15 pm.