Dramatic comeback puts Ballston Spa boys' soccer in state title game

Dramatic comeback puts Ballston Spa boys' soccer in state title game

During the week leading up to Ballston Spa's first appearance in a state boys' soccer Final Four, veteran coach Gary Preece said he was "living the dream."

[...] the first 40 minutes of the Scotties' match against top-ranked Ithaca on Saturday proved nightmarish.

[...] Ballston Spa stormed back and pulled off a dramatic, unlikely 4-2 victory in the state Class AA semifinals at Middletown High School.

The win vaults the Scotties into Sunday's state championship game against Section XI champion Walt Whitman (20-1-1).

Ballston Spa (20-0-1) put up a ferocious fight to extricate itself from a 2-0 halftime deficit; it was the first time all season the Scotties trailed by two goals.

On the first serious scoring threat of the match, Ithaca junior Thrat Kwah Paw slipped in a shot past sophomore goalie Jake Durfee just 6:17 into the contest.

Ithaca made it 2-0 when Pierre Clavel slipped behind the Scotties' defense and feathered a shot past a hard-charging Durfee with 13:02 left before halftime.