Albany, NY - Albany was the sight for this year's men's soccer YSCC Conference Semifinals and Finals. The Panthers were the third seed, and looking to get ready to take on the Seawolves of Southern Maine. In front of their home crowd, and in the playoff atmosphere, the Panthers were ready to get through and take a shot at the title.
The Panthers were ready for their semifinal matchup against the Southern Maine Seawolves, who they lost to earlier in the season. With their season on the line, the Panthers played some of their best soccer of the season. The first half was a defensive masterclass, with the defense for the Panthers doing a fantastic job defending their line. The game went back and forth all game long with neither team finding that first goal. Junior
Jay Carlson (Saratoga Springs, NY) was sent a perfect ball that led to him having a break away that brought the Seawolves keeper out. The keeper came in with spikes up and tackled Carlson outside the box that led to the keeper getting a straight red card and giving an advantage to the Panthers. The defense was the biggest takeaway from this game though as each team only had 5 shots going into half with a score that read 0-0.
More of the same from the first half was the factor in the second half as well. The Panthers were able to find more chances this half, but the Seawolves backup keeper made some stops to keep them in the game. On the other end, the Panthers defense was still playing with extreme passion and keeping the ball out of their back line. Junior goalie
Ryan Herrick (Massena, NY) had a couple great saves himself to keep the Panthers in the game as well. The game continued to go back and forth until Southern Maine striker got his toe on the ball to put it in the goal to give the Seawolves a 1-0 lead with under two minutes to go. That goal would be the lone one on the game, as the Panthers suffered a heartbreaking finish to an extremely hard fought game. The Panthers played this game with heart, with passion, and you could tell they left everything out on the field in this one.
After the game, head coach John Adeseko was asked his thoughts on the game, and how proud he was for the way his guys played. He responded by saying, "I think they played extremely hard, and we played our brand of soccer. For the most part, we kept our head in, moving the ball, trying to find the open man. You have to give credit to Southern for a strong defensive shift, and just waiting for that chance and they got one and they put the ball in. At the end of the day, the team that scores the most wins and they did that once and that is all they needed to win. I am proud of my boys, they played hard, and fought extremely well. They stayed patient and hopefully we learn from this and can be better next year."
This season the Panthers played so well, and really fought hard to be at the top of the conference. It was a season to be proud of, and we can safely say we know they will already be looking forward to next Fall.
How to follow the Panthers: For the latest information on ACPHS athletics, visit acphspanthers.com or check out the ACPHS athletics social media platforms on Instagram @ACPHSPanthers or Twitter @ACPHSAthletics.
