Everything about area high school girls soccer is different now.
Marcellus, for so long the dominant Section III Class B program, got pulled up to Class A for the 2014 season. That left behind all the other local sides in the OHSL Liberty division, including the Mustangs’ biggest rival for local league and sectional supremacy, Westhill.
Yet when the first weekend of September rolled around, Marcellus and Westhill were together again, drawn by a two-day tournament that would welcome five-time defending Class A champion Jamesville-DeWitt and West Genesee to the Mustangs’ home turf.
In Friday night’s showdown, it was the Warriors who emerged with a satisfying 1-0 victory over the Mustangs, the two sides playing through a scoreless first half before Westhill, early in the second half, inched in front when Dana Radin, amid a scramble in front of the net, put the shot past Marcellus keeper Maggie Fiacchi.
All through the night, Marcellus attacked and put pressure on Westhill’s defense. But the Warriors kept turning them back, and got a superb effort from goalie Arlana Hennebery, whose 10 saves preserved the shutout.
Both sides tried to guard against letdowns the next day, and Marcellus did so, to a point, playing West Genesee to a 1-1 draw – but Westhill ran into J-D and got run over in a 5-0 defeat.
Having lost 3-0 to J-D the night before, West Genesee managed to keep the Mustangs off the board throughout 80 minutes of regulation and the first mandatory 10-minute overtime period.
Then, with 8:40 left in the first OT, Bri Sammon, taking a pass from Jade Sargeant, lofted a shot past WG goalie Emma Madonna. But the Wildcats didn’t waver, attacking hard and, with 3:20 left, salvaged the draw by forcing a corner kick that lofted to the far post, where Olivia Price put in the tying goal, the only one Emily Buschbascher allowed as she earned 10 saves.
By contrast, Westhill had put so much energy into beating Marcellus that it had little left for J-D. Heneberry made 18 saves, but the Red Rams still beat her five times as Alex Catanzarita scored twice, with Erin Brinley, Allie Balotin and Sophia Dimkopulos adding one goal apiece.
Before all this, Westhill began with an impressive showing against Solvay on Aug. 29, dispatching the Bearcats 5-1 in a game that was close in the first half before the Warriors scored four times in the last 40 minutes to get clear.
Jayanna Monds led the attack, getting two goals and one assist. Dana Radin had one goal and one assist, while Megan O’Reilly and Katelyn Karleski also found the net. Alexis Webb, Hanna Dorfman and Isabella Haber picked up assists. Nicole Antonacci accounted for Solvay’s lone goal.
Then Marcellus had its opener on Aug. 30, where it got past Homer 3-1. But it wasn’t too easy as the Trojans, with a goal from Madison Diormer, forged a 1-1 halftime tie before the Mustangs’ relentless pressure led to a pair of decisive late goals.
Madi Belvito had a part in every scoring play, earning a goal and assisting on the other two, by Sammon and Shannon White. Both of the Mustangs’ returning goalies saw action, Fiacchi and Buschbascher getting three saves apiece.
