RIDER BOYS SURVIVE AGAINST CAIRO

Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor

10-11-09 - 8:30 p.m. - 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 to ICC would put the Riders firmly into the driver's seat as the season grinds into its second half.

Right from the get-go, this game started off with fire. Although the rain 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 counterattack, but the Rider defense snuffed it out. Coming right back, the Riders cracked a shot that forced C-D goalkeeper 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 scoreboard when Mitchell Niemeyer dribbled through the box and defenders converged upon him. Kyle Kline got his foot to the ball, forcing it through Mustang defenders, and with the keeper charging, Niemeyer ripped the ball off Gransbury and sent it squeezing through and into the net.

In the sixth minute of the contest, the Riders got on the scoreboard when Mitchell Niemeyer dribbled through the box and defenders converged upon him. Kyle Kline got his foot to the ball, forcing it through Mustang 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 sixteenth 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 toward the goal, Mastrianni was able to handle as the Riders headed to the half up by 2.

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 sixty-second minute, Chris Gagliardi put a well-struck corner kick into the center of the box where Mike Eberhard put a solid head onto it, sending it toward the goal. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and came straight down with nothing but Riders around it. As Mastrianni scooped it up, the official ran in, signaled the ball had crossed the line, and awarded Cairo a goal, despite numerous ICC objections.

Seven minutes later, with about ten 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: 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 4 corners and were whistled for 7 fouls.

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