A Matter Of Pride

Liberty Punctuates Pride Weekend With A Captivating Non-League Win Over Talented Fallsburg; Sergio Diaz Records The Hat Trick To Account For Indians’ Goals

Liberty 3, Fallsburg 1

Pride Week at Liberty is enhanced by a dramatic 3-1 Indians' non-league win over neighboring Fallsburg. (Clockwise) Liberty senior captain Andy Hazelnis poses for a picture with his parents prior to the game as part of the honoring of the team's elder statesmen. Liberty players surround Sergio Diaz and congratulate him on his goal. He scored all three of Liberty's goals on the night. Liberty fans and band members amp it up as part of the night fever. Fallsburg's inimitable keeper Dustin Foertsch holds on for a save. Battle of the 17's. Liberty's Alex Barragan and Fallsburg's Alan Sierra go at it. Fallsburg brings the ball forward on a dramatic rush and early in the game Fallsburg's Amado Gallo and Liberty's Chris Symanski vie for possession.

LIBERTY, NY—“Liberty Pride,” was the school’s renaissance mantra rekindled by former Athletic Director Jason Semo. Though Semo is now no doubt churning up school spirit in South Colonie High School in the Capital District, the legacy he left behind in Liberty is alive and well.

A day after the girls soccer team pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind 2-1 win over rival Sullivan West, it was the boys team who entered the limelight both literally and figuratively. The occasion was a non-league game against ever-competitive neighboring Fallsburg . The tilt was about to take place under the lights as part of the Pride Weekend cavalcade.

It should also be mentioned that the girls tennis team garnered a victory the day before as it beat Fallsburg 4-1.

With a playoff bid’s life on the line, the football game slated against Ellenville as the Friday Night Lights centerpiece of the weekend, Liberty is hoping for another outpouring of whoops, hollers and chest bumps.

But on this night it was all about soccer.

On the run: Liberty's Sergio Diaz looks ahead as he dribbles the ball up the field.

It should be emphatically noted that pride is not the exclusive property of Liberty. Fallsburg has plenty of it too and rightfully so, especially when it comes to a pair of boys sports, namely soccer and basketball. On this first day of fall it was the  soccer pitch, not yet the hardwood that would offer the Comets a chance to show their stuff and at times they did just that.

Both teams saw a bevy of talent go out the door at graduation, Liberty more so in terms of sheer numbers, but Fallsburg  too. For Liberty Coach Debora Simpson and Fallsburg Coach Herb Foertsch, the agenda is to get their newly configured squads to gel as rapidly as possible so that their vital league quests will result in sectional bids and the chance for a run at a title.

Fallsburg’s Class C quest entails encounters with S.S.Seward, Tuxedo, Chester and Tri-Valley, while Liberty’s Class B campaign calls for clashes with O’Neill, Burke and Sullivan West.

Night Fever

From the opening whistle it was apparent that both teams would hustle with all they had, vying for every loose ball and looking to create scoring opportunities in a game that figured to be immensely competitive.

In goal for Fallsburg was senior Dustin Foertsch. Anyone who knows anything about soccer in this region knows all about the athletic keeper who guards his cage with unflagging vigilance and whose acrobatic diving saves are the stuff of local legend.

At the opposite end of the field was Liberty freshman Julian Spina who replaces another legend, namely the recently-graduated Will McGuire. Spina is clearly up to the task as his five saves on the night would attest. With a stringent defense in front of him, he wasn’t tested that often in this game and the lone Fallsburg goal, a perfectly-lofted direct kick by Fallsburg sophomore Arturo Perez was impossible to stop.

A Liberty handball led to that score which tied the game at that juncture. Simpson and her sideline assistant Mike Salvia were impressed by the shot. Spina would have needed some Flubber, that miraculous substance of movie fame that lets a player defy gravity to have stopped that one.

But let’s start at the beginning…..

Fallsburg kicked off but within seconds, Liberty’s Sergio Diaz had his first shot on goal, a booming kick that sailed over the crossbar. It was a preview of coming attractions for Diaz who was about to uncork a hat trick to propel his team to an uplifting 3-1 win.

Fallsburg senior Sam Didinsky looks to make something happen.

Simpson has been noting from the start of the season how cohesive and unselfish this group is. Last year’s team was very, very talented, but was also plagued at times by overly-strong individual play.

As Fallsburg made its runs over the course of the night, Liberty showed great instincts in not only repulsing the attack, but turning it around to create push ups of its own. Great communication and deft passing, as well as a quickness to the ball would provide the opportunities for scoring.

Great speed is an attribute both teams can take pride in and there was plenty of that on display.

Fallsburg newcomer Alan Sierra made his presence felt early with a nice shot attempt. Speaking of speed, and deft ball skills, one cannot help but heap praise on Liberty junior captain Pedro Garcia who was racing up the field after dancing and juking to get the ball away from Fallsburg defenders who got to see much of the back of his jersey.

Speaking of captains courageous, how about Liberty’s Andy Hazelnis, a player this writer has now dubbed as “omnipresent.” For those of you who don’t know this word, it means appearing everywhere at the same time and that’s what Hazelnis does.

Lunging, leaping, sliding, running, he has great field vision and understands how to make the pass that will advance the ball towards that hoped-for seam in the defense.

Diaz got a rise of the crowd as he raced up the sideline, veered towards the middle of field and blasted a shot, ably resisted by Foertsch.  A Liberty corner kick was also nullified by Foertsch but soon the direction shifted and it was Perez knocking at the Liberty door. Spina answered.

Diaz had more opportunities with direct kicks but couldn’t close the deal. The teams retired to the half in a scoreless tie.

That deadlock ended as Diaz scored an unassisted goal about a minute in for the 1-0 lead.

Not long after, Perez deposited that classic direct kick into the upper part of the net and the Comets exulted in the 1-1 tie.

As Liberty pressed the attack, Foertsch came out and Diaz got the ball by him for the 2-1 lead on a ball that took an incredible angle from the right side. At first glance it looked like Diaz had penetrated too far to make the angle but the ball was perfectly placed for the go-ahead score. Garcia had provided the assist.

Fallsburg battled on but Liberty players seemed to find a newfound burst of energy, egged on by the loud crowd and pep band who were making their presence felt under the blackening skies.

Fallsburg’s Felix Martinez looked to tie it up with a superb shot but Spina snared it to preserve the lead.

Great sportsmanship. Fallsburg's Dustin Foertsch hugs Liberty's Andy Hazelnis as John Kolarik , left and Daniel Justiniano wait their turn to shake hands.

At 30:50 in, Diaz hit his third on an assist from Hazelnis. The hard-fought game would soon send him to the sideline with a bruised thigh. Fallsburg senior Sam Didinsky was another casualty with a hard-knock to  the head.

As the final whistle blew, the two teams amiably exchanged handshakes and a few hugs. It’s a good rivalry. Foertsch for one, can’t wait to renew it on the hardwood. Fallsburg stunned Liberty last year with last-second heroics by Michael Robinson..

Diaz who speaks volumes with his game, is a man of few words. “I don’t know what I can say. I’m just happy,” he grinned. Asked to respond to whether he felt proud given that it is Pride Week, Diaz said, “I am.”

Simpson had this to say. “It was a great game. We fought really hard for every touch on the ball.  We always play them very tough. This was one of the best-contested games. It was relatively clean and both teams hustled really hard.

We made it happen and we wanted it,” she added.

“I really thought at the beginning of the season that it might take awhile but that our kids would work together very well as a group and that even though you didn’t see everybody out there tonight, everyone is kind of on the same page right now in terms of where they’re supposed to be. We’re still working on our second touches.

“I told the guys  including those who didn’t play tonight that it was a team effort .”

Hazelnis deflected praise for himself and credited his entire team’s effort including defenders like John Kolarik. “He’s unbelievable,” he noted. It’s great to have him back. Kolarik broke his leg in a heroic play against O’Neill last season and hurt his other leg in the first game of the season this year. But he’s in there relentlessly pursuing the ball and using that patented head shot to repulse the opposition’s will to attack.

Foertsh agreed that it was a great hard-fought match. “We always want to win because they’re our neighbors and are a bigger school. We thought we had a chance and they came out strong in the second half.

Diaz is fast and a great ball handler. I tip my hat to them,” he added. “We worked hard and communicated well tonight. We were playing the ball the way we’re supposed to. We’re  improving from game to game. We’ll see what happens.

Fallsburg expended a lot of energy and has to turn right around and play a home league game against Eldred . A day game after a night game…another real challenge.

Liberty remains unbeaten at 3-0-1, while Fallsburg slipped to 2-3.

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