By Ted Waddell
FALLSBURG —November 04, 2005— The host Fallsburg Comets advanced to the Section IX Class C boys’ soccer semifinals with a 3-2 victory on Monday afternoon over the fifth-seeded Rhinebeck Hawks.
Fallsburg (8-7-1) was scheduled to play that semifinal match at top-seeded S.S. Seward on Wednesday afternoon.
“My athletes went out and got the goals,” Fallsburg Coach Jeremy Levner said moments after the Comets defeated the Hawks. “It was a good job.”
Fallsburg, seeded fourth in the Class D tournament, took a 2-0 lead in the first half. Dave Anthony scored the game’s first goal on an assist by Chris Gates.
Moments later, Anthony scored his second goal thanks to an assist from Victor Leventritt.
Rhinebeck (8-11) opened up the second half with an unassisted goal by Chuck Cacciabando.
But the Comets answered moments later as Gates beat the Hawks’ goalkeeper on an assist from Leventritt.
With about 30 seconds left on the clock, Rhinebeck’s Greg Marvin scored to pull the Hawks to within a goal.
Marvin scored by catching the Comet defenders off guard and drawing goalie Harris Seletsky way out of the goal cage.
“It was a well-played game, both teams had good chances,” Rhinebeck Coach John Jorgensen said.
“Unfortunately, they cashed in on our all-season weakness – unset plays,” he added.
“They got one goal on a corner kick and two off throw-ins… we put up a good fight.”
Levner said the Comets’ win was “exciting for the school and a lot of fans.”
“We haven’t hosted a semifinal game in a long time,” he added. “We’ve been struggling to score goals, and it was nice to see us finally score some today.”
Note: Unfortunately for Coach Levner and the Comets, their season ended with a 2-1 loss to the S.S. Seward Spartans in Wednesday’s Class D semifinal.
Gates scored the lone Fallsburg goal in the match.
Seward advanced to play top-seeded Webutuck in tonight’s Section IX Class D final at the Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton.
Fallsburg ended its season with a record of 8-8-1.