ONONDAGA COUNTY – Once more on Thursday night, the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse boys soccer teams met up, each of them armed with the firm belief that they could gain control of this long-time rivalry.
This was largely based on what took place last Tuesday night, when in separate games the Warriors and Northstars knocked off the two long-standing SCAC Metro division powerhouses.
In Liverpool’s case, it meant knocking off first-place and state no. 8-ranked Fayetteville-Manlius 1-0, doing so a mere 10 days after losing to those same Hornets on its home turf by a 2-0 margin.
Here, rainfall would slow up both teams, but fortunately for the Warriors, it did so only after Nick Hope put a shot past Jake Lavelle for his first goal of the season just three minutes into the game.
All through the rest of the night, Liverpool rarely got chances to add to its slim lead, but it turned everything away on defense, and even got some good fortune when a possible tying shot by Nick Donnelly crashed off the crossbar.
Even more impressive, from the Warriors’ standpoint, was the way it turned around and, just 24 hours later, went to Nottingham and defeated the Bulldogs 3-1.
Having lost to Nottingham by this exact same score four days earlier, Liverpool took charge after a scoreless first half, converting three times as Diarouga Docure earned two of those goals.
Hope had his second goal in as many nights, while Antonio Wilson earned two assists and Albin Buja a single assist. Jacob McQuatters finished with five saves.
As if all this wasn’t enough, the week closed with Liverpool taking on Baldwinsville, whom it tied 2-2 in the Sept. 1 opener, and this time prevailing 1-0 over the Bees.
This time it was a new face, Dominic Paolini, making the big play as he took a pass from Christian Hope and netted his first goal of the season to put his side in front in the first half.
From there, the Warriors’ defense again proved stingy with Hop Brown, Patrick Ninemeh, Bobby McQuatters, Evan Belfield and Camden Farrell taking turns getting stops and Jacob McQuatters stopping all eight shots he faced.
Back on Tuesday at a rain-soaked Bragman Stadium, C-NS pulled off its own shutout of Baldwinsville, rewarded for its defense with its own 1-0 victory.
Less than two weeks earlier, the two sides had a 0-0 draw at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. Now the Northstars again kept the Bees from establishing too much, the defense surrendering just four shots, all stopped by Wyatt Dupell.
C-NS had more chances of its own, and during the second half one of them proved decisive. Taking a pass from Adam Bonnier, Sean Graves put it past Nick Hollingshead for just his second goal of the season.
It held up, and C-NS had newfound momentum which it built on two nights later with a 7-1 romp over Corcoran.
Seven different Northstars earned goals, Bonnier joined in the scoring column by Dante Melfi, Colin Stanton, Aaron Huksic, Aiden Birmingham, Gagan Adhikan and Jacob Dieter, with assists going to Graves, Jacob Klasen, Vince Edwards and Jackson Petzoldt.