Rider boy's surge, then survive against Cairo

BOYS SOCCER

Cairo Durham v. Ichabod Crane

With first place on the line the Mustangs of Cairo made the trek to play ICC under the lights in Valatie on Monday night. A victory by C-D would push them into first place in the Patroon, while a second loss on the season to ICC would put the Riders firmly into the driver's seat as the seasons grinds into it's second half.

Right from the get go this game started off with fire. Although rain had held off most of the day, a rain shower before the game made things slick and a mere minute into the contest off an ICC miscue Cairo was able to counter attack but the Rider defense snuffed it out. Coming right back the Riders cracked a shot that forced C-D goal keeper Cory Gransbury to make a diving save for a corner. ICC kept up the efforts with Will Poetzsch ripping a wobbly shot just wide of the upper corner.

In the sixth minute of the contest the Riders got on the score board as Mitchell Niemeyer dribbled through the box as defenders converged upon him. Kyle Kline got his foot to the ball forcing it through Mustang and defenders and with the keeper charging Niemeyer ripped the ball off Gransbury and sent it squeezing through and into the net.

The Riders kept up their attack controlling the game in every aspect. In the 16th minute Mike Niemann sent a through ball between defenders and with Gransbury a step slow off his line Kline swooped in and fired home a goal to the far post for a 2-0 ICC lead.

As the first half continued the rain and wind picked up and made things difficult for both teams but Cairo seemed to take advantage the most mounting pressure on the ICC defense and goalie Alex Mastrianni. Anything Cairo was able to send towards the goal Mastrianni was able to handle as the Riders headed to the half up two.

Coming out of the half the Riders regained control of possession and the game as they again mounted pressure on the Mustang net. After a series of corners Poetzsch lofted a corner to the far post where Phil Basile slid in and finished for a commanding 3-0 Rider lead.

With the game seemingly in hand a shift in momentum came about in a hurry as the game became more physical and the Riders seemed to become visably shaken. Cairo started to mount an offensive as time ticked on. In the 62nd minute Chris Gagliardi put a well struck corner kick into the center of the box where Mike Eberhard put a solid head onto it and sending it towards the goal. The ball hit the underside of the cross bar and came straight down with nothing but Riders around it. As Mastrianni scooped it up the official ran in and signified the ball had crossed the line and awarded Cairo a goal despite numerous ICC objections.

Seven minutes later with about 10 minutes left in the game Cairo's Andy Fishman found himself in space with the ball in front of the ICC goal and slid the ball past Mastrianni to slice the lead to one. After the goal things went from bad to worse for ICC as Mastrianni earned a yellow card and on his way off the field Rider coach Matthias Nordgren was also given a yellow.

Although Cairo kept up pressure over the final minutes they were never close to equalizing the game as ICC held on for the 3-2 victory. Mastrianni made 4 saves in goal for the Riders while Gransbury made 7 stops for the Mustangs.

The Riders who improve to 9-0-1 were whistled for 5 fouls in the game while taking 9 corner kicks. Despite the loss Cairo remains alone in second place in the Patroon at 8-2. The Mustangs took four corners and were whistled for seven fouls.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday when ICC hosts Hudson under the lights at 7 while C-D hosts Catskill at 4.