Academy 5 - 4 Schalmont

A wild shootout ensued for Albany Academy's first home game of the 2023 campaign against Colonial Council rival Schalmont. The Cadets looked sharp from the opening whistle - pressuring hard and forcing three straight corners in the first 10 minutes. Theo Haworth serviced three perfect balls, and the third attempt finally went in on a great finish from Kyah Lah Hsee. It seemed like the field tilted completely in the other direction afterwards, as Schalmont dug in and were on a mission to spoil the Cadet's home opener. Aiden Lawrence got the Sabres on the board in short order from a nice feed by Santiago Vega. They took the lead on another slick cross from Luke Viscusi - finished off nicely by Aidyn Soehl. In a back-and-forth affair, Academy tied it up on yet another corner from Haworth - this time headed home by sophomore Amos Stack. That's how things stood at the half, but things got pretty entertaining immediately after play resumed. Schalmont seemed determined to outwork Academy, and earned a tough goal in front of the net thanks to Connor Byrnes, assisted by Jason Natalie. The Cadets stormed right back - and a foul in the box on a fantastic run by Johner Soe earned Kyah Lah Hsee his second tally with a sure-footed penalty. Academy's skill seemed to have taken over from there, as they finished two more quick strikes on lightning-fast transitions from Pasha and David Choma. That's not to say the Sabres didn't have their chances. Quite the opposite - dominant center back and captain Andrew Sprenger was excellent on both ends - delivering dangerous service balls on a consistent basis. Indeed, Schalmont cut the deficit in half with six minutes left from Lawrence on his second tally to up the drama for the remainder of the game. Academy was able to keep its composure and didn't allow anything else in their end - and the Sabres simply ran out of time. It was a well-fought and well-refereed game, one that will be good team-builders for both sides.   

Academy Goals:
Kyah Lah Hsee (2) from Theo Haworth (3) 
Amos Stack (3) from Theo Haworth (4) 
Kyah Lah Hsee (3) unassisted 
Haroon Pasha (3) from Mike Malatino (3) 
David Choma (1) from Will Hayes (2)