“The difference for me is that we had the same opportunities, but when they hit the crossbar, we were hitting them over,” said Niskayuna coach Terrance Sloan. “We would have had 12 points on the day, if we were playing football. If you put the ball on the frame, or near the frame, I can live with that.
But through the [uprights], we all know that’s a field goal.” The non-league matchup ended up as a 1-1 draw, as the Wasaren League powerhouse Mechanicville visited Niskayuna on its home turf. “I saw [Terrance] at Afrims this winter and said, ‘You want to play,’ and he said, 'Sure,” Mechanicville coach Mike Ciulla said of scheduling the game.
Mechanicville, which has won two straight Section 2 Class B titles, played up against the runner up in the Class AA tournament last season. For Sloan, he wanted to challenge his team, putting them up against a Mechanicville squad known for its speed and physicality. “To be honest, you’d think that the Suburban games are very physical, but sometimes they’re very technical,” Sloan said.
“I knew [Mechanicville] is very physical because I’ve watched a lot of their games. Most of their kids are bigger than our kids, and they run a lot harder.” Mechanicville opened up the scoring in the first half.
On a long throw-in taken by Tom Pitts, into the box, Scotty Lynch was able to get his head on the ball, putting it into the back of the net. Niskayuna evened things up in the second half, as Soren Borger finished off a c.