SAGE MEN'S SOCCER TEAM POSTS IMPRESSIVE 7-1 WIN TO ADVANCE TO SKYLINE CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS; TRINIDAD'S SEVEN POINTS BOLSTERS GATORS ATTACK
Albany, NY---The Sage College men's soccer team hosted the Panthers of SUNY-Old Westbury on Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Skyline Conference championships. Sage racked up a 7-1 win to advance to the semifinals, a program first for the second-year Gators. Sage improves to 11-6-1 overall and SUNY-Old Westbury fall sot 6-12-1 on the season.
Seeded fourth, Sage will travel to top seeded and regular-season champion, St. Joseph's College for the semifinal match on Wednesday, November 2 at 3:30 p.m. with the winner advancing to the championship on November 5 at the home field of the highest remaining seeded team.
Sage's rookie midfielder Gustavo Trinidad (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) exploded for seven points in the contest on three goals and an assist, while rookie midfielder Pat Noonan (Hyde Park, NY/F. D. Roosevelt) recorded a goal and three assists in the quarterfinal win. The performance for both Gator newcomers was a career-best effort as Trinidad now has eight goals with a school-record seven assists this season, good enough for 23 points which is second highest on the 2011 squad. Noonan now has seven points on two goals and three assists.
Sophomore Wesley Finch (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) connected on a goal and an assist. His goal helped Sage to a 2-0 lead in the first half and proved to be the game-winner as well. Finch leads Sage with his program-best 11 goals, 28 points, and five game-winning goals. Finch is on target to become the program's 50 point scorer as he has 35 points on 14 goals with seven assists and six career game-winners.
Rookie defender Tyler Denton (Saquoit, NY/Sauqoit Valley) netted three points on the afternoon on a goal and an assist as Sage seven-point barrage was the third highest on the season. Sage already ranks among the top scoring programs in Division III as they were ranked 18th in total goals, 25th in scoring offense, and 49th in total assists as of the last statistical ranking on October 25. The Gators now have 54 goals, while averaging 3.0 goals per game and 38 assists (2.0 per game).
Old Westbury's junior forward Steven Burgos (Floral Park, NY/Floral Park Memorial) connected on the lone goal for the Panthers as he converted a feed on a break-away from senior midfielder George Villalta (Elmont, NY/Sewanhaka) at 62:49. The goal was the second of the year for Burgo.
Sage's freshman goalie Trevor Paddy (Brooklyn, NY/Jamaica) collected the win after making three saves and is now 8-2 in goal. He shared in the win with sophomore Tim Madden (Watertown, NY/Watertown) as the pair allowed just one goal in the action. OW's junior Pablo Diaz (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem North) made eight saves in dropping to 6-11-1 in goal this season.
Sage's coach Kyle Clancy said of the win, "I am extremely proud of the guys and how well they played today." Clancy added, "their hard work is paying off and they connected on all cylinders today. We need to take that momentum into Wednesday's game at St. Joe's now."