It was on that field in Colonie, November 3, 2012 when Birkholz set the tone for what is now a 10-2-0 Foothills Council record (10-4-0 overall), right on the heels of Queensbury (11-1-1, 13-1-1) with one game remaining.
“Our goal, as soon our season ended last year, we talked about, right there on the field when our final game came to an end, that our goal was to return to the final,” Birkholz said. “That was our whole season goal and that if we get to the final that we would win this time.”
Last year was the second time South Glens Falls made it to the finals in six years (2007), after being ousted in the semifinals multiple times in between. The heartbreaking 2-1 championship game loss, ending with a Troy goal around the five-minute mark, helped fuel the fire for 2013.
“It’s a really tough road to get there,” Birkholz said. “The kids know how difficult it is and we’re going to take it one game at a time. That’s our goal.”
The Bulldogs 1-0 win over Glens Falls, Wednesday, set up a chance for them to possibly tie or win the Foothills, depending on Queensbury’s final game outcome at a tough Broadalbin-Perth squad and a South Glens Falls home win over Gloversville.
The Foothills tiebreaker is point-based, with two points for a win and one for a tie. After Queensbury tied Scotia-Glenville, 1-1, last Friday, the Bulldogs are now a half game behind. With a win and a Queensbury tie, the Bulldogs would share first place after splitting the season series with the Spartans.
But getting in this position didn’t start off easy. After dropping the first two non-league games to Schuylerville and CBA, South Glens Falls lost the regular season opener, 3-0, against Scotia-Glenville.
“After that we definitely made some adjustments to how we were going to play, moving a few guys around,” Birkholz said. “The team had to learn some lessons with how we’re going to play on the back end and how we’re going to get the ball in the net. We’re playing our backs differently than we played our backs last year and we graduated two of our guys last year.”
Those adjustments attributed to the following 10-game win streak, which included nine straight shutouts and a 5-2 win over Broadalbin-Perth.
The streak ended with a 2-1 Queensbury loss on October 9. During the Queensbury game, the Bulldogs had to pull Jace Lenon out with about 15 minutes left before the end of regulation because of cramping.
“When Jace comes out of the lineup there’s a difference in our team,” Birkholz said. “We ended up giving up a goal with five minutes to go when they tied it and he was not able to return. That kind of put a dent in our lineup.”
Wednesday’s shutout over Glens Falls was the Bulldogs’ impressive 10th of the season, as Birkholz played all 27 of his players to both get a look at everyone heading into sectionals, while giving his starters some rest. Lenon scored the lone goal.
One of those starters is the team’s leading goal scorer Alec Potter. The junior has 10 goals and two assists this season, including a hat trick against Johnstown. He’s followed by teammate Teddy Brushini (eight goals, three assists)
“[Brushini] has made an impact in every game,” Birkholz said. “I can’t think of a game where he hasn’t done something good for us. He’s a very young player (sophomore), very talented and a very smart soccer player.”
It has also been the performance of players, such as Cody Kostrzebski, who might not stand out in the box score as much as Kyle Ogden (five goals, four assists), Brushini and Potter, who have made a difference.
“You’re not seeing (Kostrzebski) a lot in assists and goals and things like that,” Birkholz said about the junior. “He creates a lot of opportunities for the team. He hasn’t been scoring or getting a ton of assists but he’s doing a lot of work that you don’t see in the stat column that really benefits our team.”
Regardless of what happens this year, the Bulldogs have a set foundation with Kostrzebski, Potter and Brushini returning next year.
South Glens Falls hosts Gloversville, Saturday at 1 p.m. before keeping an eye on Queensbury, who plays at Broadalbin under the lights at 6 p.m. to wrap up the regular season before seeding begins.
