B1

SPORTS

Friday, December 26, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/TROYRECORD AND TWITTER.COM/TROYRECORD

troyrecord.com

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Hetzke has made major impact

Sienas happy-go-lucky freshman
as talented in classroom as in gym
By Laura Amato
[email protected]
@LauraAmato on Twitter

Margot Hetzke is
just so happy to be here.
The Siena freshman, who has
had an almost indescribale impact on the womens basketball
team over the past month and a
half, could talk for literal hours,
on how much she loves competing, her hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future and, perhaps most importantly, how generally fond she is of the entire
LOUDONVILLE >>

human race.
For all intents and purposes,
Hetzke is, quite simply, a very
happy person.
But how the Penfield native,
and four-time MAAC Rookie of
the Week, translates that raw happiness into a competitive streak
as wide as her nearly perpetual
smile, is a different story all together.
Ever since I was little, my
mom always says that I really
havent changed much, and I
think pretty much all my energy
HETZKE PAGE 3

BY THE NUMBERS
MARGOT HETZKE

FYI: The 5-foot-11 freshman forward

averages 15 points and eight rebounds per game for the Saints, who
play at home vs. Colgate on Sunday.

Im really bad about

relaxing. When Im
relaxing, Im just like,
well, lets sit here and
talk. Ill chat forever.
- Siena freshman forward Margot Hetzke
SIENA COLLEGE PHOTO

Siena freshman forward Margot Hetzke averages 15

points and eight rebounds per game for he Saints.

THE RECORDS ALL-AREA BOYS SOCCER TEAM

SHAKERS RICCIO
IS AREAS BEST

Online: Siena schedule, stats

and schedule.
WWW.TROYRECORD.COM

NBA

Wall,
Wizards
outclass
Knicks
By Brian Mahoney
The Associated Press

MIKE MCMAHON - [email protected]

Shaker senior David Riccio is The Records Player of the Year.

Senior defender turned in All-America effort for Blue Bison

James Costanzo
[email protected]
@JamesCostanzo on Twitter

A couple weeks ago,

Shaker head coach Dan Fountain called and woke his star defender up out of a sound sleep to
tell him the good news.
He was like, Youre on the
All-America team. I was like,
Wow, whats that? said Blue
Bison senior David Riccio, who
was still rubbing the sleep from
his eyes and not totally sure
what Fountain was talking
about.
He was like, Its a national
honor, its one of the best things
you can get. Thats when it really kicked in. I was shocked, I
was really happy.
Riccio wrapped up his high
school soccer career as the only
Section II athlete to be named to
the All-America team in 2014, a
very prestigious honor, even for
LATHAM >>

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

DAVID RICCIO

FYI: The Shaker senior defender

was named Suburban Council
MVP, an All-America and The
Records Player of the Year for
2014.
Inside: Coach of the Year, large
and small school capsules, PAGE 3.
someone who was already the
Suburban Councils Most Valuable Player and, now, The Record Player of the Year.
It was a great feeling. Theres
nothing like it, said Riccio. Its
one of the highest honors of high
school soccer.
Their isnt a coach or evaluator out there, who saw Riccio
play this season, that thought
he was anything other than the
best player in the area.
The senior anchored the Blue
Bison back line to a 15-2-1 re-

cord, the Suburban Council

championship and the top seed
in the Class AA tournament. He
ended his senior campaign with
with five goals and four assists
while Shaker defense allowed
only eight goals all season before falling in the sectional
semifinals to Niskayuna.
Fountain, who has been
coaching Riccio at the varsity
level for three years now, said
he knew almost immediately
that he was dealing with a true
talent.
We pulled him up as a sophomore and he started for us
and was our best defender -as a sophomore, he said. For
the Suburban Council, its rare
for a sophomore to start, much
less be anchoring your back line.
Right away, from his sophomore
year, we realized he was a special talent.
That talent crescendoed in
Riccios final season game at

Shaker, on the road and under

the lights, against rival Shenendehowa with the Suburban
Council championship (a goal
they had set at the start of the
season) on the line.
It was his greatest performance -- his Sistine Chapel. David Riccios David.
Shen probably sent 20
crosses into our box and David
Riccio won 20 head balls in our
box and cleared every single one.
Shen was a great team. We were
under duress that whole second
half and David Riccio was really
the defining player for us there
He kept Shen off the scoreboard
and allowed us to win the Suburban Council, said Fountain.
That was the biggest game of
the regular season for us and it
was far and away the best game
David Riccio ever played for
Shaker. He was just phenomenal that game.
RICCIO PAGE 4

NEW YORK >> John Wall is fast

and f lashy, a showman who
practices 360-degree layups and
then pulls them off in games.
And when he gets pushed, he
pushes back.
Wall had 24 points and 11
assists, eluding the Knicks all
day until getting knocked to
the floor by a flagrant foul that
sparked an altercation, and the
Washington Wizards beat New
York 102-91 on Thursday.
Wall toyed with the Knicks
for 3 1/2 quarters, highlighted
by his spinning layup, before
Quincy Acy knocked him down
with a forearm shove with 5:31
to play. Wall got up and pushed
Acy, who responded with what
appeared to be a punch that hit
Wall behind the neck. Acy was
ejected in the Christmas Day
dust-up, and Wall received a
technical foul.
Im just a feisty guy that
likes to compete, Wall said.
And I want to win games.
Washington won this one
easily, leading by as many as
22 and never trailing. Bradley Beal added 17 points for the
Wizards, who had their top five
of Wall, Beal, Paul Pierce, Nene
and Marcin Gortat in the starting lineup for the first time this
season.
We came out with a lot of energy, ready to go from the start,
Beal said, and its just going to
continue to get better and better as the season goes on.
Carmelo Anthony scored 34
points for the Knicks, who fell
to 5-26 and have the most losses
in the NBA. They have dropped
six straight and 16 of 17.
The fans are dying. Were dying. Were out there not producing, Anthony said.
Wall was dazzling in what
could be a warmup for a trip to
Madison Square Garden for the
February All-Star game.

THE SCORE
WIZARDS 102, KNICKS 91

Up next: New York, which has

one victory in its past 10 games,
plays Saturday at the Sacramento
Kings. Tip-off is 10 p.m.

AHL

HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER

NBA

NBA

New OT rule
creates a buzz

The Record's Boys

Soccer All-Area Team

Thunder get better

of Spurs in matinee

LeBron James returns

to South Beach

The new overtime rule in the

American Hockey League this
season is generating plenty of
buzz and just may be coming
soon to an NHL rink near you.
It's seven minutes long or
until someone scores.

Shaker coach Dan Fountain

had a banner season and is
coach of the year. Theere's
also players capsules for large
and small schools, photos,
second team and honorable
mention selections.

Russell Westbrook scored 34

points, and the Oklahoma City
Thunder beat the San Antonio
Spurs 114-106 on Thursday
in a fiery rematch of last
season's Western Conference
Finals.

LeBron James was running

the gamut of emotions Thursday when he arrived at the
arena that he called home for
the past four seasons. So did
the fans who were seeing him
as a member of the Cavs.

FULL STORY ON PAGE 2

FULL STORY ON PAGE 4

FULL STORY ON PAGE 2

FULL STORY ONLINE

B4

ALL-AREA BOYS SOCCER

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2014

Large school
Tucker Marvin

Greg Milnarik

Shenendehowa, senior
midfield
Stats: 7
goals, 5
assists
Honors:
1st team
Suburban
Council allstar, 1st team All-State
Notable: Whether it was
as a striker or a holding
midfielder, Marvin did
whatever coach Jon Bain
asked of him well. The
senior captains physicality gave opponents no
chance on 50-50 balls
for the Section II Class
AA champion Plainsmen.
Marvin will continue his
soccer career at Division I
UMass next fall.

David Riccio

Shaker, senior, defender

Stats: one
goal, four
assists
Honors:
Class AA
Suburban
Council
first team
all-star
Notable: The Blue Bison
won the Suburban Council
and earned the top seed
in the Class AA sectional
tournament, in part, because of their astounding
defense led by Milnarik
and David Riccio. Milnarik
was a Suburban Council
first team all-star for a
squad that allowed only
13 goals all season.

Connor DeFilippis

Ballston Spa, junior forward

Stats: 12
goals, 6
assists
Honors:
1st team
Suburban
Council
all-star
Notable: An ideal striker,
DeFilippis is big, strong,
fast and highly skilled.
The junior had a knack for
receiving the ball in the
space in front of defenses,
then looking to turn and
shoot or dribble at the goal.
DeFilippis scored a goal in a
Ballston Spas 3-2 win over
Shenendehowa and tallied
two goals and an assist in a
playoff win against CBA.

Miles Burbank

Shenendehowa, senior
midfield
Stats: 6
goals, 8
assists
Honors:
1st team
Suburban
Council allstar, 1st team All-State
Notable: The most creative
player in a loaded Shenendehowa midfield was
tasked with both scoring
goals and setting them up
for others. The senior took
most of the Plainsmen free
kicks and had the assist
from the corner kick goal
in the Section II Class AA
final. Burbank will continue
his soccer career at Division
I Binghamton next fall.

Sean Connolly

CBA, senior, goalkeeper

Stats: 74
saves, 85
percent
save percentage
Notable:
CBA head
coach
Steve Freeman called
Connelly the best goalkeeper in the entire section and the numbers can
back that up. The senior
made 74 saves at an 85
percent clip in 2014 and
the Brothers went 14-4-1.

Alec Potter

Justin Brehm

James Homan

Matt Crisafulli

Matt Saddlemire

Nick Lewis

Jared Whitford

Jared Morello

Max Jenkins

Justin Flanagan

Liam Rice

Tom Miller

Ian Cepiel

Justin Akin

Shaker, senior, defender

Stats: five
goals, four
assists
Honors:
2014
NSCAA
Fall High
School
All-American, Suburban
Council Player of the Year
Notable: The best player
on a Shaker team that
went 15-2-1, won the
Suburban Council and
earned the top seed in
the Class AA sectional
tournament. Riccio was
the only Section II soccer
player to earn All-America
honors and will attend
Boston University next
season on a full athletic
scholarship.

South Glens Falls, senior,

forward
Stats: 22
goals, five
assists
Honors:
Class A
Foothills
Council
first team all-star
Notable: South Glens
Falls won the Class A
sectional title in 2014 and
they couldnt have done it
without the high-scoring
Potter. The Bulldogs
finished 16-4 and beat
Scotia-Glenville in the
sectional title game, 2-1,
with the senior leading
the team in goals (22) and
second in points (27).

Shaker, senior, Midfielder

Stats: 10
goals, three
assists
Honors:
Suburban
Council
first team
all-star
Notable: Brehm led the
Suburban Council champion Blue Bison in goals
(10) in 2014 and was a
Suburban Council first
team all-star in the midfield. The senior scored
the Suburban Council
championship deciding
goal in the regular finale
under the lights against
Shenendehowa.

Shenendehowa, senior
defense
Stats: 4
goals, part
of 400plus minute
playoff
shutout
streak
Honors: 1st team Suburban Council all-star
Notable: Of the four goals
Homan scored his senior
year, none was bigger
than his header that gave
Shenendehowa a 1-0
win over Niskayuna in the
Section II Class AA final.
The senior captain was
a rare three-year varsity
starter for the Plainsmen
and a leader on and off the
field for coach Jon Bain.

CBA, junior, forward

Stats: 35
goals, 10
assists
Notable: In
their first
season
outside
the Big 10,
Crisafulli led the Brothers in both goals and
assists at the forward
position. There were only
three games in which
the junior did not tally a
goal or an assist as CBA
finished an impressive 10
games above .500 at 144-1. Against St. Peters
High School for boys in
September, the junior had
his best statistical game
of the season, scoring
four goals and adding two
more assists.

Small school
Schuylerville, senior midfield
Stats: 16
goals, 8
assists
Honors: 1st
team Foothills Council
all-star
Notable: Saddlemire
ensured Schuylervilles
first season in the Foothills
Council was a winning one.
The senior captain could
find space for a shot when
it appeared there was
none or slide an pass to an
open teammate. Above all,
Saddlemire played harder
for longer than anyone else
on the pitch. He scored
twice in the Black Horses
dramatic Section II Class B
quarterfinal win.

Stillwater, senior, midfield

Stats: 12
goals, 15
assists
Honors:
Wasaren
League
first team
all-star
Notable: Flanagan nd
teammate Ian Cepal comprised the highest scoring
duo, on the highest scoring offense, in the section.
Some coaches actually
said that, despite Cepal
being the sections top
scorer, it was Flanagan
they feared most because
he could make their teams
pay when their attention
was on Cepal. The senior
was a first team Wasaren
League all-star.

Hoosic Valley, senior,

defense
Stats: one
goal
Honors:
Wasaren
League
first team
all-star
Notable: Lewis was a
key cog in a defense that
allowed only six goals all
season. The senior played
in front of fellow all-star
Jared Morello, who tallied
nine shutouts, as the
Indians finished second
in the Wasaren League
behind Stillwater. Lewis
was a first team Wasaren
League all-star.

Saratoga Central Catholic, senior

forward
Stats: 22
goals, 6
assists
Honors:
5th team
Class C AllState, 1st team Western
Athletic Conference North
all-stars
Notable: As the most talented player in the Western Athletic Conference,
Rice was often double or
triple teamed in matches.
That didnt stop him from
scoring more than 20
goals and creating many
quality scoring opportunities for teammates. Rice
will continue his career at
Merrimack College.

Hoosic Valley, senior,

Midfield
Stats: 13
goals, 20
assists
Honors:
Wasaren
League
first team
all-star
Notable: Whitford was
the second-highest scorer
on an Indians team that
finished second in the
Wasaren League. The
senior midfielder racked
up 20 assists (most on
the team) and was a first
team Wasaren League
all-star.

Maple Hill, senior, goalkeeper

Stats: 86
percent
save
percentage, nine
shutouts,
75 saves
Honors: Patroon Conference Keeper of the Year,
Class C Keeper of the Year
Notable: Miller earned a
lot of hardware in 2014,
winning Patroon Conference Keeper of the Year
and Class C Keeper of the
Year. He tallied 75 saves
and nine shutouts on his
way to an impeccable 86
percent save percentage.

Hoosic Valley, senior, goalkeeper

Stats: 94
percent
save
percentage, 103
saves, nine
shutouts,
six goals
allowed
Honors: Wasaren League
first team all-star
Notable: Morello had the
Capital Districts top save
percentage (94 precent)
to go along with his nine
shutouts and 103 saves
for the Indians. The senior
allowed only six goals all
season and was a nodoubt first team Wasaren
League all-star.

Stillwater, senior forward

Stats: 56
goals, 8
assists
Honors:
4th team
Class C
All-State,
Wasaren
League MVP, set Section
II single season scoring
record (56 goals)
Notable: Cepiel was the
key figure for the Warriors
in their most success year
in program history. The
captain used his outlandish
speed and shot to create
scoring opportunities for
himself all season. Stillwater finished 17-1, won the
Wasaren League title and
ended the year as the No. 6
Class C team in the state.

SECOND TEAM LARGE SCHOOL

Maple Hill, senior, defense

Stats: 1
goal, 1 assist
Honors:
Wasaren
League
first team
all-star
Notable: The Wildcats
finished 14-4 and second
in the Patroon Conference
in 2014, in part, because
of their stifling defense,
of which Jenkins played a
key role. In his senior season, Jenkins was named a
Patroon Conference first
team all-star. The Wildcat
defense allowed only 13
goals all season and produced 10 shutouts.

Hoosic Valley, senior,

forward
Stats:
35 goals,
seven assists
Honors:
Wasaren
League
first team all-star
Notable: Akin cracked
the top-3 in scoring in the
Capital District leading
the Indians with 35 goals.
He was named a first
team Wasaren League allstar and led Hoosic Valley
to a 13-2-1 record and
second place in the league
behind Stillwater.

Riccio

Forward: Billy Melchionni, Albany Academy

Midfield: Carter Haydock, Shaker

Forward: Stephen Klimek. Saratoga Springs

Defense: Ethan Daly, Saratoga Springs

FROM PAGE 1

Forward: Andres Trestick, Ballston Spa

Defense: Tom Osborne, Shenendehowa

Midfield: Nick Redmond, Bethlehem

Defense: Aaron Muia, Colonie

Midfield: Pat Mahoney, Shaker

Goalkeeper: Tyler Murray, Saratoga Springs

Shaker ended up
winning, 1-0, its eighth
shutout of the season
and a victory Fountain almost solely contributes to Riccio.
Obviously soccer is
a team game, and our
whole team was playing hard and playing
great, but it was one
where we wouldnt
have been able to keep
Shen off the scoreboard without David in
that game, he added.

SECOND TEAM SMALL SCHOOL

Forward: Noah Chani, Hoosick Falls

Midfield: Garrett Wysocki, Schuylerville

Forward: Jack Bogann, Cambridge

Defense: Justin Gaines, Hoosick Falls

Forward: Garrett Axtmann, Maple Hill

Defense: Pat Michel, Hoosic Valley

Midfield: Brody Cepiel, Stillwater

Defense: Seth Schreifels, Stillwater

Midfield: Tyler Gaines, Hoosick Falls

Goalkeeper: Brendan Wright, Stillwater

COACH
OF THE YEAR

Banner
year for
Shakers
Fountain
James Costanzo
[email protected]
@JamesCostanzo on Twitter

Before the start

of every season, Shaker
head coach Dan Fountain
takes his team for a stroll
around the gymnasium -a Banner Walk they call
it.
Every single year in
the preseason we would
do this thing called a
Banner Walk where wed
go to the gym and inside
our gym we have banners
hanging up, said Blue Bison defender David Riccio. On the Shaker soccer
banner, theres two Suburban Council wins and zero
sectional titles and coach
would always talk about
how weve never done that
but this is the year to do it.
Every season, all but one
team goes home unsatisfied, its just the nature of
sports. Rarely, or at least
less frequently, do teams
get to accomplish their primary goals, which in the
case of the 2014 Blue Bison
was to add to the banner
in the gym. In fact, that became their rallying cry.
It actually was the
year do it, said Riccio.
We came up with a saying that was, Banner in
the gym or B.I.T.G. and
that was the motto for the
team this year.
Fountain is The Record
Coach of the Year, at least
in part, because the Blue
Bison accomplished one of
their primary goals. They
added to the banner in the
gym.
Shaker finished 2014
with a 15-1-1 record and the
top seed heading into the
Class AA sectional tournament. Although they were
knocked out in the semifinals by runner-up Niskayuna, the Blue Bison did
get to add one long-coveted piece of hardware -a Suburban Council championship.
In my sophomore year
of high school we had an
average team, we were
about .500. That bothered
me a lot. As the year went
on, my junior year, we had
a really good year but we
missed out on a Suburban
title by one win and that,
again, really bother me,
said Riccio. Then again
this year, my senior year,
we finally won the Suburban Council so that was
a great accomplishment.
We actually really fulfilled
what we wanted to do that
season.
The Blue Bison beat
Shenendehowa, 1-0, on the
road and under the lights
on the regular seasons final day, accomplishing the
goal Fountain laid out for
his squad before the season ever started.
I was there when coach
Fountain actually got the
job. I was a sophomore on
varsity his first year, said
Riccio. Hes a laid-back
coach but he knows when
to get on you and he knows
how to get the best out of
you, which is very good for
this team.
LATHAM >>

Riccio looks back

on that game fondly,
remembering the rush
of energy every time a
ball went up in the air
in his direction.
The adrenaline was
definitely f lowing,
said Riccio. Every single time theres a ball
in the air youre thinking, Its my ball, Im
going to win it. Theres
no other thought besides that.
Riccio will attend
Boston University next
fall on a full Division
I athletic scholarship,
joining a school with
a great medical pro-

gram -- which he liked

-- and a team that was
ranked 23rd in the nation a year ago -- something he also liked.
David is one of
those kids that players very intense but
you can tell hes having fun when hes playing. He appreciates
that its a game. Even
though he gives it his
all and he really invests
in it, he enjoys it, said
Fountain. Hes a great
kid, all around. On the
field, off the field. You
wish you had a team
of players just like him
every year.