ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Midway through the regular season, the Shaker boys soccer team has looked every bit the part of a reigning sectional champion. The Blue Bison improved to 8-0 Thursday night with a gritty, 2-1 road win against an upset-minded Albany High team. Dan Fountain’s bunch has now outscored their opponents 34-5 this year.

After a pair of early scoring opportunities for Shaker were thwarted by alert defensive plays from the Falcons’ back line, the 2022 Class AA champs finally cracked the scoreboard with a goal off a penalty kick from Owen Brant.

Albany did not back down, though. In the 34th minute, junior midfielder Christian Bermejo put a corner kick into the box. Shaker goalkeeper PJ Strand came out to make a play on the ball, but was tripped by one of his teammates, leaving a wide-open goal for Albany’s Hameed Zadran, and the senior forward capitalized, tying the game at one. The match remained all square heading into halftime.

Shaker racked up a number of corner kicks throughout the night, but was unable cash in on any of its’ opportunities. That changed in the 55th minute when Nathanael Chung put a ball on the far side of the box; it was headed back over the middle by Patrick Flaherty and finished off with another header from Kofi Sarfoh. That proved to be the game-winning goal, as the Blue Bison held on for the final 25 minutes to secure the 2-1 victory.

Shaker (8-0) continues its’ current three-game road trip with a matchup Saturday against Schenectady at 11:00 a.m. That will carry the Blue Bison into a massive game Tuesday against Saratoga Springs in a rematch of last year’s Class AA title bout.

Albany (2-2) will have a chance to bounce back Saturday in Niskayuna. Opening kickoff against the Silver Warriors is set for 11:00 a.m. as well.