Sir Bills oust top-seeded Tamarac
By The Leader-HeraldArticle Photos
BRUNSWICK - Coach Jon Jennings led the Johnstown boys' soccer team in a victory cheer saying: "How 'bout them Sir Bills?"
The ninth-seeded Sir Bills picked up their second win in three days over a higher-seeded team, this time knocking off top-seeded and defending Section II Class B champion Tamarac 2-1 Saturday.
"The team is peaking at the right time," Jennings said. "[In the] first half, we didn't catch many breaks. Soccer is about catching the breaks. This is our sixth straight win, before that we were 1-9-2. When we won about three or four straight, the whole attitude of the team changed. The practices changed and everything got so much better in that winning streak you could just see it building."
The Bengals got on the board first when Matteo Gatti headed home a pass from Alex Razzano.
The Sir Bills charged back to get the equalizer from Matthew Sagan with 12 minutes left in the opening half.
Bruno Cote broke the 1-1 deadlock 15 minutes into the second half, driving a line drive shot over the head of the Tamarac goalkeeper for a 2-1 advantage.
Johnstown kept the pressure on Tamarac over the final 35 minutes of play to improve its record to 7-9-2 overall. Thursday's 3-1 victory over Coxsackie-Athens was the Sir Bills' first sectional win since 1996.
For the match, Johnstown outshot Tamarac 10-4 and held an 8-4 advantage in corner kicks.
The victory earns Johnstown a berth in the Section II Class B semifinal, where the Sir Bills will face No. 5 Schuylerville at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Morse Complex in Glens Falls. The Black Horses advanced after penalty kicks over Cairo-Durham.
No. 2 Broadalbin-Perth will play No. 3 Schalmont in the other semifinal match, also at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Glens Falls.




