Total perfection is now within the close reach of the Skaneateles boys soccer team. Oh yeah, and it could also snag a state Class B championship.
The Lakers, no. 1 in the state rankings for a month now, made it 20 consecutive wins by getting away from Section IV champion Trumansburg in the second half of a 4-0 shutout in last Saturday’s Class B regional final at Wright National Soccer Complex in Oneonta.
This was the same venue, at the former site of the National Soccer Hall of Fame (now closed), that hosted the state final four in recent years.
Now it was merely a site for regional games – but regardless of the stakes, Skaneateles wanted to atone for having gone 0-3 in previous visits to Oneonta as it went after Trumansburg on an unseasonably warm November afternoon.
If the Lakers were slow to start, it was understandable, too, since it had not played in eight days since blanking Clinton in the Section III Class B final Nov. 5 at Chittenango.
Trumansburg had a fair amount of early chances, but the Blue Raiders could not take advantage of them – and in the 20th minute, it watched the Lakers move ahead for good. A.J. Richichi offered a strong pass to the middle, where Jeff Baldetti headed it past Trumansburg goalie Zach Taber.
To his credit, Taber, who finished with 15 saves, kept Skaneateles out the rest of the first half. And early in the second half, the Blue Raiders nearly pulled even, as Trevor Diamond had to make a diving save on Charlie Woodward’s shot.
A few minutes later, just after Woodward narrowly missed another point-blank opportunity, the Lakers counter-attacked. Richichi delivered a well-timed pass to a streaking Kevin Rice, who used his speed to cut back inside, then pound a shot past Taber to make it 2-0.
Now with a cushion, the Lakers kept attacking, as a corner kick from Richichi led to a second Baldetti goal and Rice returned to score again, too, accounting for the final margin. Diamond, overall, stopped seven of the eight shots he faced.
So after finally winning at Oneonta, Skaneateles now makes a longer trip east, to Middletown, for the state Class B final four.
On Saturday, the Lakers face Section VI champion Akron in the semifinals at 1:45 p.m. A win would mean a trip to Sunday’s final at 3 p.m. against Northeastern Clinton (Section VII) or Burke Catholic (Section I), so Skaneateles has two more steps to climb before it can claim its perfect ending.
