Spartans, Lady Spartans take Class C soccer titles

Florida - In a stunning sweep, both the Seward Spartans and the Lady Spartans captured the Section 9 Class C soccer championships. The Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton served as the site for both triumphs last Saturday. And both Seward teams faced the squads from Webutuck. When the long day finally ended it was Lady Spartans 3, Webutuck 0; Spartans 3, Webutuck 2. It wasn’t easy. After winning four straight Class D titles the Lady Spartans moved up to Class C this year. Despite the tougher opposition the Lady Spartans ended up as co-champions of Division of the OCL with Tuxedo, both with 7-1 league records. That same Tuxedo team was no match for the Lady Spartans in the Section 9 semi-finals as Florida prevailed 3-0 at home. Theres Space gathered in a Vivien Greiser pass and put the Spartans on the board early in first half. Jillian Collova powered in an unassisted goal to give Florida a 2-0 half-time lead. Space finished up the scoring on a pass from Collova in the second half. Spartan goalkeeper Alina Greiser continued to impress with several saves on shots sailing toward the goal. The freshman goalie continued her superlative goal-tending in the finals against Webutuck, registering another shutout. The game, in fact, appeared to be heading for a scoreless tie as neither team was able to score in the first half and the first 21 minutes of the second half. Freshman Collova ended that standoff with a goal with only 19 minutes left in the game. That score seemed to deflate Webutuck, and another freshman, Michelle Dugan, settled things with a goal with only 10 minutes remaining. Space rammed home goal number 43 of the season a little later to assure the Lady Spartans of their first Class C title. Boys’ turn The boys’ march to the championship was just a little more nerve-wracking, although it didn’t start out that way. In the semi-final game against Fallsburg played in Florida, Bryan Folkl and Rich Nozkowski teamed up to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead five minutes into the game. Folkl scored first, assisted by Nozkowski, then they reversed roles with Nozkowski finishing of a Folkl feed. That was the extent of the Florida scoring. In the second half Fallsburg applied the pressure, but the Spartan defense came to the rescue. Although the Comets made it 2-1 after a succession of corner kicks, they could not get the ball past Spartan keeper Wayne Hallock again. Brenden Myers played a major role, constantly breaking up Fallsburg’s offensive charges. Myers also played a key role in the finals against Webutuck. The senior defender rushed up from midfield to finish off a corner kick by Corey DeJong for the first goal of the game. After Webutuck tied it at 1-1, Folkl carried the ball down the right side and found the back of the net to put Florida back in front. Webutuck eventually tied the game at 2-2 and that’s the way the regulation ended. Following two ten-minute overtime periods and two five-minute sudden death periods the game was still deadlocked. So the championship game came down to a “Shoot Out at the Sports Dome.” Once again Spartan coach Bill Steele called on his “closer,” Myers, to replace goalie Wayne Hallock who did an admirable job during the regulation and overtimes. It was a matter of more experience (Myers was the full-time keeper last year) and taking advantage of Myer’s coolness and quickness. Some of that coolness and quickness is also evident when the three-sport athlete patrols the hot corner for the Spartan Diamondmen in that same crouch and ready for anything balance. The first 10-man shootout resulted in a 2-2 deadlock. Then in the sudden-death shootout Seward’s Saddam Sahmanovic put Florida ahead. Now it was up to Myers. Before the Webutuck shot could find the right corner of the net, Myers knocked it down, then gathered it into his chest. Both ball and keeper were swarmed under by a mass of jubilant Spartans. By this time Florida will have played a regional game and will be further into the state tournament or will have been eliminated. Perhaps there is still time for more heroics.