Delaney: Not quite Clinton's turn

The Clinton boys are a good soccer team.

The young, young Warriors are not quite capable of winning a Section III title.

That's not a knock; the future is very bright for longtime coach Gil Palladino, who had six freshman and one senior starting Monday's Class B quarterfinal against Lowville.

 

Lowville, which advances after a shootout, wasn't nearly as skilled as Clinton, but the fifth-seeded Red Raiders got solid goalkeeping from Zach Haenlin and they tightened up their defense noticeably in the second half to contain the speedy Warriors. Defense has been the name of the game all season. Lowville allowed eight goals during the regular season. After two sectional games, the Red Raiders have given up 12 to earn a place in the semifinals for the third-straight season.

 

"I don't need to score four goals to win a game," Lowville coach Chris Riley said. "We want to win a 1-0 game and let our goalkeeper do his stuff."

 

Clinton defeated Lowville, 1-0 in the semifinals two years ago on the way to a sectional title. This group of Warriors play well with the ball and they dominated the midfield against Lowville, which found itself back on its heels after Brian Zehr's goal 23 seconds in. Clinton, with its youth, has trouble finishing. 

 

"We controlled the midfield," Palladino said. "We have to work very hard to score goals." 

 

In front of Haenlin, Lowville's defense was buoyed late by the play of Cody Carpenter, A.J. Capone and Cody Farney. Carpenter, who converted the game-winning PK, thwarted good opportunity by Clinton's Steve Abdoo late in regulation. Abdoo had Carpenter one-on-one but the Red Raiders' defender played the ball perfectly. He turned his body to avoid getting caught flat-footed and was patient until a teammate arrived for support.

 

Farney sat on the bench during the team's last four games because he wasn't a good match-up against Lowville opponents. When his replacement became ill, Farney filled in and did a nice job in one play defending Clinton sophomore Benjamin Hobaica, who might have been the fastest guy on the field.