From opposite ends of the Section III Class A playoff bracket, the Jamesville-DeWitt and East Syracuse-Minoa girls soccer teams had the same quest in mind – passage into the second week, and the latter rounds.

The three-time defending champion Red Rams drew the no. 2 seed and, after a first-round bye, met no. 7 seed New Hartford in Friday’s Class A quarterfinals. Warmed by the summer-like conditions, J-D rolled past that other group of Spartans by a 4-0 margin.

New Hartford had needed overtime just to get out of the first round, but once it had survived Cortland 2-1, it now met a fresh, rested Red Rams side.

That didn’t work right away, though, as J-D, who hadn’t played in eight days, played an uneven first half, which kept the game at 0-0 and had the home fans a bit concerned.

But the moment that J-D got on the board early in the second half, the nerves went away, and the Rams tacked on three more goals to give itself a comfortable cushion.

Jessica Holmes led that late surge, scoring twice, while Amber Hyatt picked up one goal and one assist. Maddy Devereaux contributed a goal as Paige Sherling and Caroline Kopp earned one assist apiece. J-D’s goalie, Allison Butler, stopped all six shots she faced.

As for ESM, the task was a lot taller. It had the no. 8 seed, which mean running square into top seed Whitesboro in the quarterfinal round and, at that moment, exiting the stage after a 5-1 defeat to the Warriors.

At least the Spartans got to that next round, dominating last Tuesday’s opening-round game against no. 9 seed Carthage with one of its best offensive efforts of the season as it knocked out the Comets 7-0.

Constantly, ESM found itself in Carthage’s end, attacking hard. That translated into a 3-0 halftime edge, and much more success after the break.

The Spartans took 18 shots overall, and Kaitlyn Shaughnessy found the most success, earning a three-goal hat trick. Ashley Scalzo scored twice, while Olivia Chopske and Danielle Douglas both had one goal and one assist. Caitlin Gagen produced a pair of assists as Grace Maring gained one assist.

It completely turned around, though, at Whitesboro, whose top seed was earned with a sweep through the Tri-Valley League and two wins over defending Class AA champion Liverpool.

ESM tried, throughout the first half, to establish an attack, but the Warriors thwarted them and bolted out to a 3-0 halftime lead. Then it scored twice more after the break, negating the Spartans’ lone tally by Natalie O’Brien.

Throughout the day, ESM goalie Kristen Raab, who made six saves, had to confront Whitesboro star Ashley Williams, who earned a three-goal hat trick and also earned a hat trick. Jennifer Deuel had the other two goals, plus an assist.

So as ESM finished a 10-7-1 season, Whitesboro advanced to play Fulton in one Class A semifinal, the other pitting J-D against no. 3 seed Camden, with the winners advancing to the championship round later this week.