In case you were wondering where I'll be at today... There you go! Twin bill for me, a 4:15 start at 'North Colonie' - Shaker High School for the normal folk, and a 7:00 start at Troy High. I've spent more evenings at Troy High this fall... wait, that sounded wrong. Let's see what we're getting into.
Columbia at Shaker
Columbia is having themselves quite the start. They had a blemish on Monday against Saratoga, but backed it up by knocking off previously unbeaten Shen 2-1 the following day. Kylee Arno had one of them for Columbia, and Bridget Austin tallied her first of the season as well. Arno, on the other hand, has been doing this for a while. She leads a relatively balanced attack with 6 goals and 3 assists through 6 games. The 4-1-1 Blue Devils are right in the thick of things at the top of the Suburban. Shaker is a tough opponent, but it's painfully clear what has held them back so far - they can't score. They scored 3 goals in a season opening W over Burnt Hills, but in the 5 games since, they've only scored twice. That includes 3 consecutive shutout losses, ending with a 1-0 victory over Colonie this week. Although they've had their problems scoring, they've stayed competitive because they don't let teams score. Over their last 3 games, they've given up just 1 goal, going 1-1-1 over that stretch. Camryn Careccia is the only Shaker player with more than one goal so far - that included the lone goal in their Tuesday win. She's got 2. The 2-3-1 home team has shown that because of their defensive prowess, they'll still at least compete with just about anyone. It'll be a nice battle between skilled offensive players in Arno & Lindsay Mulligan (among others) and the strength on the back end from Shaker.
Last time I saw Columbia girls soccer - never. First time for everything!
Last time I saw Columbia at all - Boys soccer against Mohon a week and a half ago. I'm getting used to this whole Suburban Council thing.
Last time I saw Shaker girls soccer - They took a week & a half ago at the hands of Saratoga. Fun game to watch. That was also the last time I saw anyone from Shaker - of course.
Albany at Troy
I haven't been to much boys soccer this season, but I have already caught Albany. That game, they handled Catholic Central, a team that was certainly not the strongest. As it's shaked out thus far, Albany has only won one other game besides that. They will score, but they won't explode on the offensive end. In their 6 games (2-4 so far), they've scored one goal in half, two goals in a couple other games, and their scoring outburst was 3 in the aforementioned CCHS game. Albany is another team without a dominant scoring - no one has scored more than twice. Jackson Leon is certainly a threat though. His stellar footwork and ball control put the defense on ankle watch, and he leads his team in points - 1 goal and 3 assists. They have yet to play Troy, another team who's been struggling out of the gates. They'll be at their midway point after tonight and sitting at 1-5-1 currently. Their lone win was an 8-0 beatdown they gave to Lansingburgh, which skews the scoring data just a touch. They've lost 3 straight since then to CBA, LaSalle, and Albany Academy. Mouayad Khlalafalla leads the Flying Horses with 5 goals & a dime, and Sean Dory has 4 goals of his own. They score more, but also give up more than Albany does.
What to expect - An even game. They're back and forth against their common opponents. Troy has played Schenectady twice and went 0-1-1, Albany lost their game against Schenectady and all games were close. Troy lost 2-1 to LaSalle; Albany beat them by the same score. They both got handled easily by CBA. Expecting a close one!
Last time I saw Albany boys soccer - Just mentioned it. Handled CCHS 3-0 early in the season.
Last time I saw Albany at all - Saturday, I think. Their American football team needs work. Or a weight room, their best athletes not to go to private schools, something.
Last time I saw Troy boys soccer - Making my Troy boys soccer debut (French origin word of the day, yes that's a thing).
Last time I saw Troy at all - Must have been girls soccer. I've caught them a few times already. Assuming they won, Carlee Lockrow probably scored, Stinson probably scored or did some nice things. It's all blending together to me now. I need a beer.
Good luck in your games today. Hopefully you have a little Mexican soccer announcer that you can put to work and make them yell GOOLLLLLLL GOALASOOOO!!!
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