Albany Times Union Local News

Colonie

Final Four-bound again.

In a fast and physical match, it was execution and timing that allowed the Saint Rose women's soccer team to continue its journey in the Division II NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 victory against Bloomsburg in a national quarterfinal at Afrim's Sports Park on Sunday afternoon.

For the first time since 2014, St. Rose (21-2-1) advances to the semifinals on Thursday in Pittsburgh at Highmark Stadium. It will be joined by Flagler (23-0-1) out of St. Augustine, Fla., Grand Valley State (23-1) from Allendale, Mich., and Western Washington (22-2) from Bellingham, Wash. St. Rose will play Grand Valley State at 11 a.m. Thursday.

What ended up being the difference-making goal came in the final moments of the first half when senior and Burnt Hills native Morgan Burchhardt blasted a free kick from about 25 yards away to score with seven seconds remaining.

"I've been waiting five years for this since we lost in '14," said Burchhardt, who notched her second goal of the season and is the only member of the team who has played in a national final four. "It's incredible. I've endured a lot over the years with my knee injuries. To be back out there and contributing any way that I can possible is what I've always tried to do."

"Morgan's (Burchhardt) re-start was brilliant," said St. Rose women's soccer coach Laurie Darling Gutheil. "You won't see a better finish on a goal by anyone, anywhere. She's been working with me for five years to get this team back. I said today if she was going to get an opportunity, she was going to bury it because she wants it so badly. And, that's exactly what we all were able to enjoy."

Golden Knights' leading scorer Nina Predanic played more the role of facilitator on this day. The senior from Brezice, Slovenia, serviced a...

ALBANY — Celine Dion is the last of her kind. A pop diva reliant on pomp, sweeping ballads and anthemic mid-tempo tracks that serve to showcase multi-octave vocal histrionics isn’t really a thing anymore and hasn’t been in over a decade.

Coincidentally, it’s been about that long since Dion’s last world tour. Most of her 2010s has been spent in Las Vegas, performing at Caesar’s Palace in a highly lucrative residency. But now Dion is off the strip and on her first global tour since 2008. On Saturday night, Dion made a sold-out stop at the Times Union Center for her first appearance in Albany since December 1, 1998.

In front of an appreciative audience, Dion was energetic and enthusiastic as she ran through her hits and a couple of tracks off her new LP, “Courage.”

ALBANY  – County Executive Dan McCoy has appointed the county's attorney, Daniel C. Lynch, to be the new deputy county executive.

Troy police are investigating after a 3-year-old boy’s death was ruled a homicide.

ALBANY ⁠— Ahead of a legislative hearing Tuesday on the sealing of some criminal records, activists are launching a new campaign proposing to automatically wipe a person's record clean of certain crimes.

New York does not allow for the expungement of criminal records, but a two-year-old law permits some individuals to seal files for certain crimes after a decade has passed since a person's sentencing or the end of their prison term. Advocates behind the new campaign, called Clean Slate New York, argue that the law is underused and does not help reintegrate convicted criminals back into society, stripping them of employment, housing and other opportunities.

The Saints go into the break coming off a 70-66 loss at Cal Poly on Saturday night that provided their latest lesson you won't find on the school curriculum.

"It’s about learning to win,'' Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello said in a postgame interview video provided by Siena athletic communications. "We don’t know how to win yet."

Siena (2-5) suffered its fourth straight defeat after squandering an 11-point lead in the second half against Cal Poly (2-7), which hadn't beaten a Division I team this season. The Mustangs' only other victory came against Simpson of the NAIA.

"When it's said and done, to win a game on the road of a team that's hungry for their first Division I win, you've got to have that killer instinct,'' Maciariello said.

A victim’s testimony can be a powerful tool for prosecutors in a domestic violence trial, but it is not always a necessary one.

Columbia County Sheriff deputies are asking for help in finding a missing 29-year-old man from Elizaville.

It's the coldest start to a morning as we've seen this season, certainly with the snow pack helping out!

The Saints (2-5) suffered their fourth straight loss. The Mustangs (2-7) earned their first win against a Division I opponent, the other coming against Simpson of the NAIA.

Siena beat Cal Poly 75-54 in Albany a year ago.

"Just too many mistakes to win a game on the road,'' Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello told Talk 1300. "This team (Cal Poly) had this game circled. They hadn't won a Division I game yet. We've got to make free throws, as well. What were we, 4 of 12 from the free throw line. You're not winning on the road, 4 of 12 from the free throw line."

ALBANY — Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Police Chief Eric Hawkins went door to door on Second Street on Sunday, trying to reassure residents after another homicide near the intersection of Second and Judson streets.

The pair, joined by Albany Council member Joyce Love and neighborhood residents, were responding to the third homicide near that intersection in just over a year, Sheehan's chief of staff Brian Shea said.

"They were there to discuss proactive measures the city is taking to deal with the quality of life issues that are contributing to the violence that residents there are unfortunately becoming accustomed to," he said.

The shooting is the city's fourth homicide of the year.

A lack of depth caused by injuries may have caught up Saturday night with the University at Albany basketball team.

UAlbany built a 15-point lead in the first half against Bucknell but seemed to wear down as the game progressed, losing the nonconference game with the Bison 65-64 in Lewisburg, Pa.

Five scholarship players are hurt for the Great Danes (5-5), who lost their second straight after a three-game win streak.

Point guard Ahmad Clark played 37 minutes after logging 33 Wednesday night in a home loss to Yale. Scoring leader Cameron Healy has played 73 minutes the past two games.

Malachi de Sousa, who missed the Yale game because of a knee injury, returned but played only 14 minutes and scored one point.

"We tried to play Malachi a little bit," UAlbany coach Will Brown said. "He's not ready."

Compounding a situation where the Danes essentially have a seven-player rotation, forward Kendall Lauderdale (26 minutes) and center Brent Hank (14) were limited by foul trouble.

"Our frontcourt guys got fouls," Brown said, "and right now we're playing Ahmad and Cameron so many minutes and asking them to do so many things, I thought we got a little tired. I still think we should have closed the game out."

Bucknell (4-7) took its first lead since the score was 3-2 with 9:30 remaining on Andrew Funk's layup that made it 46-45.

After a Healy 3-pointer put the Danes back on top 49-48, Kahliel Spear scored with 7:36 to go to give the Bison the lead for good.

"It's a tough one," Brown said. "This is a game we should have closed out, but we didn't make plays when we needed to, and we didn't play smart basketball for the last five minutes of the first half and most of the second half."

Clark, who finished with 18 points, helped the Danes build a 21-6 lead in the first eight minutes....

One of the biggest sporting events in America will hold first- and second-round games at the downtown Albany arena on Thursday, March 19 and Saturday, March 21. It's an event that Discover Albany, which promotes visitors and tourism in the Albany area, says will have a $2.8-million direct economic impact.

Danny Haynor,  associate director of  men's basketball championships for the NCAA, said in a phone interview on Friday he was impressed during a tour of the arena and the surrounding hotels last month.

"It's great seeing everything that's been done up to this point and and know that the city and the venue and our hosts are doing to do a great job putting on a great tournament for us," Haynor said. "We're definitely excited to be back in Albany bringing March Madness back to the fans there."

It will be the men's tournament's third appearance in the Capital Region since Times Union Center opened in 1990. The first and second rounds were held in 1995 at Times Union Center, then known as Knickerbocker Arena. The regional came in 2003, when the building was renamed Pepsi Arena.