Saranac Lake’s Mason Stoddard, left, kicks the ball down field with Chazy’s Madox Tyndall during Thursday’s home game. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake boys soccer team dropped its second match of the season, falling 2-0 to the Chazy Eagles — who typically dominate Section VII Class D soccer — on home turf at Schroeter Fields Thursday.
Despite the loss, Red Storm head coach Brad Rafferty said he was happy with the way his team played.
“Chazy is always a good measuring stick to see where you are at,” Rafferty said. “Every year they are pretty structured and sound. We stuck with them and we made them nervous.”
In what proved to be a defensive match, the Red Storm held the Eagles in check through the opening half, before Chazy broke through with two goals in the second.
“They out-possessed us, but we defended really well and played physical and matched their intensity,” Rafferty said.
Peter LaBarge netted Chazy’s first goal, which came on a one-on-one break away in front of the net. The Eagles’ Dylan McAfee scored the second and final goal of the game with around 10 minutes left in the contest.
“Going up against a team like Chazy, they are probably going to possess (the ball) more than we were,” Rafferty said. “That’s something we conceded before the game started.
Hopefully we get a break the other way. We had three or four. We just weren’t able to finish it.”
Saranac Lake’s Nash Carlisto was a big reason why the game was so competitive. Carlisto recorded 13 saves, including a leg save on a penalty kick at the early stages of the second half.
“I mean, that gave us life,” Rafferty said. “I saw our team lift after that. It extended our game for another 10 minutes before they finally put one by him, but yeah that was big.”
The Red Storm did find some opportunities in the later stages of the game, including on a free kick from 20 yards that soared over the Saranac Lake attackers. But the Red Storm was never able to capitalize on their chances.
Saranac Lake finished with six shots, while Zamir Foster was credited with the shutout to earn the win in nets for Chazy.
The Red Storm will look to fully regroup over the next few days before taking on the Seton Catholic Knights at home Wednesday at 4:30 pm. The Knights are currently 0-2 on the season.
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