Haldane’s Bailey McCollum (2) battles with North Salem’s Paige Werlau (10) for ball control during first half action at Haldane High School in Cold Spring Sept. 24, 2015. McCollum scored two goals as Haldane defeated North Salem 3-1.
Haldane’s goalkeeper Sara Labriola (00) makes a save against North Salem during a girls soccer game at Haldane High School in Cold Spring Sept. 24, 2015. Haldane defeated North Salem 3-1.
From right, Haldane’s Bailey McCollum (2) controls a pass in front of North Salem’s Kelsi Ryan (15) during first half action at Haldane High School in Cold Spring Sept. 24, 2015. McCollum scored two goals as Haldane defeated North Salem 3-1.
COLD SPRING After a scoreless, relatively even first half which saw North Salem end up with the better of the scoring chances, Haldane head coach Gary Van Asselt knew there needed to be changes.
Haldane managed to find some extra legs, and combined with some key substitutions, broke out in the second half to get a 3-1 win on Thursday to complete the regular season sweep over the Tigers.
Julia Rotando scored on a header off of a corner kick in the 47th minute to open the scoring. A couple of minutes later, North Salem’s Lydia Werlau managed to sneak behind the Haldane defensive line, but her Haldane goalkeeper Sam Labriola cut off her attempt to dribble past her and managed to grab the ball in the box.
Haldane continued to dominate possession after that, and doubled the lead in the 58th minute with a goal by Bailey McCollum. North Salem managed to apply pressure late, and got a goal off of Kelsi Ryan’s free kick in the 71st minute, but McCollum scored again in the final minute to seal the win.
“In the second half, we came in a lot hungrier,” McCollum said. “We started to connect our passes better.”
“Our halftime speech that coach Evan (Whitson) gave us really helped,” Rotando added. “He was saying ‘foam and mouth, get ready,’ and I did.”
North Salem moved down to Class C this year, and Van Asselt said he saw them as the main contenders to dethrone Haldane in the sectional tournament.
“They scored more than us; we’ve got to learn to score more,” North Salem head coach Bob Martin said. “We played them when we were in C four years ago, we know how good of a program they are.”
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From right, Haldane’s Bailey McCollum (2) passes to a teammate while covered by North Salem’s Haley Donovan (22) during first half action at Haldane High School in Cold Spring Sept. 24, 2015. McCollum scored two goals as Haldane defeated North Salem 3-1.
Player of the game: Bailey McCollum, Haldane. The senior midfielder showed why she is the reigning New York State Class C Player of the Year, controlling the midfield in the second half and scoring two long-range goals on perfectly-placed shots.
Turning point: After Rotando’s goal, Haldane managed to dominate possession. It paid off in the 58th minute, when McCollum struck a powerful shot from 29 yards out into the top left corner for what turned out to be the winning goal.
Stat line: For Haldane, McCollum scored twice, Rotando had a goal, Amelia Hall and Lila Osborn had assists and Labriola made five saves. For North Salem, Ryan had a goal and Lindsey McSweeney made seven saves.
Quotable: “We know they are definitely going to be our biggest rivals,” Haldane’s McCollum said about North Salem. “But we know we can beat them. We have to keep working hard, but we’re more confident.”