CHITTENANGO – Though they have met plenty of times in plenty of circumstances in the last four decades, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool girls soccer teams do not have many championship showdowns in their annals.
But they’ll have one Saturday at SUNY-Cortland with the Section III Class AA title on the line after both the Northstars and Warriors claimed 2-1 decisions – C-NS over Rome Free Academy, Liverpool over Baldwinsville – in Wednesday night’s semifinals at Chittenango High School.
Going first, the top-seeded Northstars faced an RFA side that beat Syracuse United 3-0 in the Oct. 20 opening round – the program’s first playoff win since 2017.
Having not played in 11 days, C-NS had some uneven moments at the outset, but in the 16th minute it grabbed a 1-0 lead when Julianna Edwards’ pass found Abby Mackey on a breakaway and Mackey converted.
Late in the half, after a great stop from Black Knights goalie Mikayla McPheron, the subsequent corner kick turned into a second C-NS goal when Sophia Donovan converted from the point off a rebound.
Heading to the second half with a 2-0 advantage, the Northstars could not pull further away. Instead, RFA picked up its pressure and, with 16:18 left, pulled within one when Amelia Furbeck poked home the rebound of a long free kick.
C-NS goalie Meghan McGrath could not hold on to that free kick – but she was able to keep a possible game-tying shot from crossing the goal line with four minutes left, and the Northstars held on from there.
Now it was Liverpool’s turn against a Baldwinsville side it beat twice in the regular season in equal 1-0 decisions. The third meeting would prove the most important -and most exciting, too.
Midway through a lively first half, B’ville goalie Alyssa Luce could not hold on to Kaylee Lockwood’s long shot from the left side and Grace Muller was able to convert to put the Warriors in front.
The Bees countered when, on a free kick late in the half, Nadia Guzman drilled a free kick into the top center of the net, and the game’s back-and-forth nature continued into the second half – when Alexa Marsh delivered a special moment.
In the 57th minute, Liverpool was probing in front of the Bees’ net. A pass from Isabella Melfi found Marsh, who with her left foot from the left side 25 yards out delivered a note-perfect shot inside the top left corner of the net that Luce had no chance to stop.
Again protecting a one-goal lead, the Warriors were effective possessing the ball in B’ville’s end, and earned a chance at the sectional title against a C-NS side it lost to by 2-0 and 4-0 margins earlier this fall.
