A few inches could have saved the game for Saratoga, and one goal proved to be the difference.
The CBA Brothers triumphed over the Saratoga Blue Streaks on Tuesday night at Saratoga Springs High School by a score of 1-0 in Saratoga’s 2016 Senior Night.
The game was a defensive affair on both sides as there was no scoring in the first 40 minutes of the match, although six shots had been taken combined between the two sides. Saratoga had three of those chances and came closest to scoring halfway through the first half on a free kick from Simon Smith from 55 yards out that ended up being one or two feet from entering the net. However, CBA goalkeeper Carter Zink was able to grab the ball and impede the progress of the Saratoga offense. Zink recorded a shutout on five saves.
Saratoga goalkeeper Hunter Choy also dominated in the early stages of the match, recording three saves in the first half.
The shots were tied 3-3 at halftime but no goals.
The game remained scoreless at the break but would not stay that way for long in the second half. Rob Amore, who had already been having a very solid game, clawed his way through the Saratoga defense and got the ball just past the outstretched arm of Choy and into the net by about three inches before it was pushed out. However, the push came too late as CBA had already been awarded the goal.
“Yeah, that’s soccer for you,” Saratoga head coach Jake Zanetti said.
Saratoga continued to have chances to get the ball past Zink in the later parts of the game, but he didn’t back down. Saratoga’s biggest chance in the second half came on a corner kick where the ball missed finding the net just off to the left.
“We just tried to make sure that we had good pressure on the ball and some cover in behind it, in case we weren’t able to get it,” CBA head coach Steve Freeman said.
Game tempo slowed down on the CBA side in the second half as they looked to run the clock out in the final minutes following their goal. Saratoga did have one final chance in the final minute but again came up short. CBA’s goal was one of their only two shots in the second half, the other coming from Andrew Demeter.
Tuesday was the 2016 Senior Night at Saratoga, and seniors Hunter Choy, Konstantinos Tsitos, Gabe Olsen, Jose Garcia, Michael Moran, Matt LaRosa, Max Derderian, Sam Mastrianni, Ben Baker, Danny Varsames, Menard Bibow, Nick Cavotta and Seth Granger were honored pregame.
With this upset, CBA improves to 4-8 on the season.
Saratoga lost for the second time this season, falling to 7-2-1 on the year. Tuesday was their final home game of the season before playoffs begin. They will be back in action on Thursday, taking on the Silver Warriors of Niskayuna in an away game. That game will kick off at 7 PM.
STATS:
CBA:
Rob Amore: 2 shots, 1 goal
Rafael-Enrique Holguin, 1 shot
Wyatt Leto, 1 shot
Andrew Demeter: 1 shot
Saratoga:
Evan Farr: 2 shots
Simon Smith: 1 shot
Gabe Olsen: 1 shot
Ryan Postlethwait: 1 shot
Goalkeepers:
CBA (Carter Zink): 5/5, 100% saved
Saratoga (Hunter Choy): 4/5 , 80% saved
