Penalty kicks decide soccer game
By Keith Harrington
The Whitehall girls soccer team had an opportunity to extend their Fall II season for one more game last Monday when they faced Hadley-Luzerne in the Adirondack League playoffs’ third-place game played on their home pitch.
The Railroaders and Eagles played to a 0-0 tie through 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime so the winner was decided by penalty kicks. Hadley-Luzerne outscored Whitehall 3-1 in the PK round to claim the victory.
The matchup was set up after both squads fell in Adirondack League semifinal games. Whitehall lost to Bolton-Warrensburg and Hadley-Luzerne to Lake George. Bolton-Warrensburg went on to win the championship.
Zoe Eggleston was the first player to shoot for the Railroaders in the penalty kick session. Eggleston buried her shot to give Whitehall a 1-0 lead.
Gabby Mosher hit the back of the net on Hadley-Luzerne’s first shot to bring the Eagles even at 1-1.
Eagles’ goalie Madison Lent, who was superior all afternoon, then changed the course of the match. Lent stopped the next Whitehall shot to give her team a slight edge.
Elaina Amoroso then converted her shot for Hadley-Luzerne to give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage.
Neither team scored in the third round of PKs, but Carolina Lott-Diamond connected on her attempt in round four after Lent had made another save for the Eagles to clinch the win.
Lent was a huge part of the Eagles even making it to the penalty-kick round. Whitehall peppered her with shots throughout the contest, but Lent was undeterred. She finished the game with a whopping 26 saves.
Dory Gosselin had another solid game in goal for Whitehall, shutting down Hadley-Luzerne for 100 minutes of regulation and extra time. Gosselin finished with four saves.
Whitehall ends the season 5-2-1, 6-3-2. Hadley-Luzerne ends the season 5-4, 6-4-1.
Cross country championship results
By Keith Harrington
The Adirondack League Cross Country Championships were held last Thursday in Lake George and the host Warriors won both the boys and girls teams titles, but the Whitehall-Granville team also performed well.
Lake George took the top four sports in the boys race with Isaac Herrick crossing the line first with a time of 15:24.3. Cameron Orr, Sam Burns and Oliver Herrick took the next three spots for the Warriors. Hayden Serchia of Corinth rounded out the top five.
David Austin led the Whitehall-Granville runners with a seventh-place finish with a time of 16:05.2. Troy Austin placed 13th recording a 16:44.8. Quinn Johnson collected a 16th place finish with a time of 16:59.3.
In the team competition Lake George finished on top with a score of 15. North Warren-Johnsburg was second with a score of 53 and Granville third with a score of 72.
Both David and Troy Austin, both from Whitehall, were named Adirondack League First Team Cross Country All-Stars.
On the girls side, Katrin Schreiner of Hadley-Luzerne claimed the championship with a win a time of 17:36.
Whitehall-Granville’s Amber Gibbs, who attends school in Granville, was second with a time of 18:39.3. Granville’s Katelyn Panoushek was seventh with a 20:07.2.
Mattison Stark of Lake George, Alyssa Freeguard of Argyle and Taylor McClarty of Lake George also finished in the top five.
Hartford seventh-grader Brynn Tyler had an impressive race for the Tanagers. Tyler finished sixth with a time of 19:47.9.
Lake George won the team title on the girls side. The Warriors were the only squad with a complete team of five runners. All other schools could not be scored as a team.
Gibbs, Panoushek and Tyler were named Adirondack League First Team Cross Country All-Stars.
Horde, Railroaders do well in golf championship
By Keith Harrington
Even with less than perfect conditions the Adirondack League held its end-of-season golf championship and Invitational Tournament at Skene Valley Country Club in Whitehall last Wednesday.
Granville and Whitehall both had strong showings, but it was Hadley-Luzerne that stole the show, winning both the team championship and the Adirondack League Invitational.
The Eagles nipped Lake George 3-2 in the team championship match. Cam Plummer, Joe Amendola and Sean Frasier won their matches for Hadley-Luzerne. Zach Bruno and Cayden Johnston picked up victories for the Warriors.
Cam Plummer and Bruno earned medalist honors as they both shot 41. Tyler Plummer and Johnston tied for second with a score of 43.
Granville’s Andrew Rathbun had a stellar performance, finishing third by firing a 44.
“Andrew (Rathbun) played very well in the last three matches and ended up with the lowest stroke average for the season on the team,” said Granville coach Justin Nassivera. “He also had a match play record of 5-1-1. His third-place finish in the league invitational was just a glimpse of more to come from him.”
Hadley-Luzerne and Lake George tied for first in the Adirondack League Invitational with identical scores of 84. The Eagles won the tournament in a tiebreaker. Granville was next with a 96. Whitehall was right behind the Golden Horde with a 99. Fort Ann-Hartford with a 103, North Warren 110, Fort Edward 119, Bolton 153 rounded out the invitational standings.
“The boys did well yesterday,” Nassivera said. “Due to Covid restrictions, we could not bring as many golfers to the league tournament as usual. We could only bring three and the two lowest scores would count.”
Ryan Kunen shot a 51 for the Golden Horde.
Nassivera was pleased with his squad’s season.
“Overall this season we had a 6-2 record,” Nassivera said. “Corinth and Warrensburg did not have teams during Fall II season, so it limited our number of matches, but they are expected to be back in the fall.”
Despite how strong the top two teams are, Nassivera is optimistic that the Golden Horde can chase them down in the fall.
“Hadley-Luzerne and Lake George have been tough in the league the last couple years, and we hope to be able to catch and compete with them come August,” Nassivera added.
