Kingston Stockade FC’s third season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is just around the corner, with the first official game taking place when the Rhode Island Reds visit Dietz Stadium on Saturday, May 12. But first, a friendly followed by a trip to Long Island for the club’s first-ever appearance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The Saugerties High School varsity boys’ and girls’ track and field teams have raced out of the starters’ blocks this season, holding their own at Kingston High School’s 13th annual Tiger Relays over the weekend, followed by a clean sweep over visiting non-league opponent Spackenkill on Tuesday afternoon.
The Women’s Woodstock Cycling Grand Prix (WWCGP) returns to the area on Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, bringing the sixth edition of the world-class women’s-only bicycle road race to Woodstock, Shandaken, Hurley and Saugerties.
Kingston Stockade FC semi-pro soccer returns to Dietz Stadium early next month, but the team will see its first unofficial action of the 2018 season this Friday, April 27 at 7 p.m. when they head to Poughkeepsie to take on the NCAA Division I Marist Red Foxes men’s soccer team.
Even though that “crack” has been replaced over the years by a “ping” (aluminum bats instead of ash-wood), and the kids these days seem more enamored by video games than stealing second base, the game remains as wonderful as ever.
The Saugerties Little League will honor longtime coaches Joe Martin and Jim Speirs by naming field #2 at Cantine in their honor on Saturday, April 28 during opening day ceremonies.
Few of the players who turned up on Saturday morning will get a call to come work with the first unit, and even fewer might get into a Stockade game this season. But with the team looking to build not only for the present, but also the future, club officials were pleased with what they saw on the frosty Dietz grounds.
The club, which had faced the possibility of closure last year before a sale to a new group of investors, will also be open to the public for the first time this season.
Liz Praetorius was among the first wave of girls at Saugerties High School to have the chance to compete in three different sports: volleyball, basketball and softball. Praetorius excelled in all three, but her posthumous induction into the Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 14 as part of the Class of 2018 this month is about much more.
Joe “Base” Quirk, a name synonymous with local sports, will be inducted into the Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame this weekend. Quirk earned his way in not only because of his own playing days but also because of his dedication to Saugerties sports ever since.