By COURTNEY LEWIS
QUEENSBURY — Plattsburgh High had a ball bounce off one of its players and into its own net in the first half Saturday. And when the Hornets were still shaking that off, Broadalbin-Perth scored off a corner kick.
Despite possessing the ball most of the second half, the Hornets couldn't recover.
Broadalbin-Perth earned a 2-0 win over Plattsburgh in the NYSPHSAA Class B boys' soccer quarterfinals, denying the Hornets a third straight trip to the final four.
"At this level, to be down 1-0, that's a possibility," Plattsburgh High coach Chris LaRose said. "To be down 2-0, against a very good team like Broadalbin-Perth, that's a big hole to dig yourself out of.
"I wish them all the luck in the world. They deserve it. They played much better than we did today when they needed to."
Rain fell throughout the contest at Queensbury High School and made things tricky at times. In the middle of the first half, the Patriots (18-1-2) controlled the ball in the corner and then sent it into the box.
"And with the conditions what they (were Saturday), the ball skipped everywhere," LaRose said. "And unfortunately it skipped off one of my defenders' legs and squirted past my keeper. (Kevin) Neiderer dove for it, he gave it all he could, but it was just out of his reach."
Vincent Zaluski was credited with the goal.
With just under four minutes left in the half, Madison Wilcox headed in a corner kick for a 2-0 lead. Zaluski earned the assist.
The Hornets (14-3-1) had some good chances in the first half that they couldn't put away, including a one-on-one with the goalkeeper about 15 minutes in. The shot was just wide.
"I thought if we had gotten that first goal, it would have made a huge difference in the first half for us," LaRose said. "Unfortunately, they got it just a couple minutes after that. Had we gotten that first one, it might have been a different ending, but who knows."
The Hornets had given up a total of nine goals before Saturday.
Plattsburgh spent nearly all of the last 30 minutes of the second half in its offensive end. But the Patriots frequently broke up plays once the Hornets got close to the 18.
The Hornets' best chance to get on the board came early in the half, when they sent a header toward the net off a corner. A Broadalbin-Perth defender standing guard at the near post kept the ball out.
The Hornets also forced Broadalbin-Perth keeper Jared LaPorte to make several saves in the closing minutes.
"They are a similar team to us — they have a defense similar to ours," LaRose said. "So every time that we would put our ball in a passing lane, there was a man to defend us.
"They seemed to have a half step on us throughout the course of the game."
Neiderer made six saves for Plattsburgh, and Chris Roenbeck, who played part of the second half, had one.
—
Broadalbin-Perth 2,
Plattsburgh High 0
Plattsburgh00—0
Broadalbin-Perth20—2
First half- 1, BP, Zaluski, 21:00. 2, BP, Wilcox (Zaluski), 36:09.
Shots- Plattsburgh 14, Broadalbin-Perth 8.
Saves- Neiderer, PHS, 6. Roenbeck, PHS, 1. LaPorte, BP, 7.
E-mail Courtney Lewis at: clewis@pressrepublican.com
