Doane Stuart is on to the quarterfinal round of the Class CC Section II playoffs after the #8 boys soccer won 4-2 over #9 Hoosic Valley! This was only the second time in school history that DS had earned a home playoff game, and the Thunder Chickens did not disappoint in their match played at Bethlehem Central High School.
It was a back-and-forth contest, which remained exciting until the end. Hoosic Valley opened the scoring with a goal 10 minutes in. Kyaw Lwin of Rensselaer scored the equalizer 10 minutes later, followed by Nelson Htoo of Rensselaer and Abe Gordon ‘19 of Saratoga Springs who both chipped in to give DS a 3-1 lead at halftime. Hoosic Valley started the second half with a goal to cut the lead to 3-2 before Joey DiPreta ‘21 of Clifton Park scored on a redirect with about 8 minutes left to seal the victory for DS, 4-2.
After the game, Coach Wells complemented DS’ strong defense, especially in the second half: “Hoosic Valley really turned up the pressure in the second half, but our defense held strong. Will Murdock ‘18 of Stephentown had a great game at right fullback, along with Dillon Norton ‘18 of Selkirk, Sam Smith ‘18 of Delanson, and Ben Guilbault ‘21 of Schenectady. They carried our defense and helped shut Hoosic Valley down late.” Coach Wells added, “We have strong senior leadership this year, but it is also great to see that two of our key players in the game were freshmen [Joey and Ben]. The future continues to look bright for DS soccer.”
Senior Lucas DiPreta of Clifton Park, on-field captain, also had this to say about the team’s performance:
“Having the higher seed and being the home team really helped us because it gave us the confidence that we were supposed to be the better team. We had to, therefore, play like the better team. Right after kickoff we were determined to win. Unfortunately, we let in an early goal, but we didn’t panic and let that get the better of us. That allowed us to work hard through the second half and overcome, despite them being bigger and very physical. We didn’t let that get to us, and we just continued to work together as a team.”
Up next for the boys soccer team is a Friday afternoon match up against #1 seed Greenville. Doane Stuart will have its hands full; Greenville (11-2-1 in conference play) is the highest ranked Class C school in Section II and is #8 in the State. But Lucas and the rest of the team are not deterred: “We have never seen [Greenville] before. People hear DS and think it will be an easy game, but we have a history of surprising teams and giving them a run for their money. I think as long as we show up and continue to work together, then we can make it a good game.”
Who: #8 DS versus #1 Greenville
What: Boys Soccer – Quarterfinals of Class CC, Section II Tournament
When: 3:00 PM Friday, October 20
Where: Greenville Central High School (Google map location here)
Congratulations and good luck tomorrow!! GOOOOO THUNDER CHICKENS!
Previous News Stories
October 17 – Boys Soccer Earns Section II Class CC Home Seed
10/20: correction. The boys team had once previously won an opening round sectional game, a 2-1 OT thriller versus Sharon Springs in 2009. The article has been corrected to reflect this achievement.