Ever since a semifinal defeat to Fabius-Pompey in last fall’s Section III Class C semifinals, the Manlius-Pebble Hill boys soccer team has geared up for a championship run in 2014.
Long-time head coach Don Ridall’s Trojans would make a strong debut last Tuesday afternoon on its home field, turning back Bishop Ludden in a 3-2 decision.
Even though it had to replace nine graduated seniors, MPH was sensational in the first half against Ludden, roaring out to a 3-0 lead. Gerrit Church, expected to be a cornerstone for the Trojans all season, scored twice, while Sam Goldman picked up the other goal.
And all of it was needed, since the Gaelic Knights made a second-half charge, thanks to a pair of goals from Thomas Muller. Still, MPH held on, Ryley Amond finishing with five saves.
Against another long-time rival, Faith Heritage, on Friday afternoon, MPH proved quite impressive, shutting out the Saints 4-0 by scoring twice in each half.
What’s more, the attack was nicely balanced. Gerritt Church, Luke McQueeney and Ini Oguntola each picked up one goal and one assist, with Bryce Church earning the other goal. The Trojans dominated the flow of play, taking 21 shots to Faith’s two.
Bishop Grimes would open its season last Tuesday with a trip to Cato-Meridian and a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Blue Devils.
All of the goals came in the first half, where Alex Kieb and Mike Delvecchio scored for the Cobras and Justin Reinhardt put Cato on the board.
From there, Grimes couldn’t add to its lead, but the Blue Devils didn’t catch up, either, as Jack Rotondo, with his six saves, anchored the Cobras’ solid defensive effort.
Things turned around, though, when Grimes met Tully on Thursday afternoon. In a 6-2 defeat to the Black Knights, William Hahn and Dar Rinker both scored and assisted on each other’s goals, keeping it close at 3-2 going into halftime, but Tully got away late as Drew McNerney, with two goals and two assists, led the way.
By contrast, the Bishop Grimes girls soccer team, fostering championship ambitions, opened in grand style last Wednesday afternoon with a 10-0 romp over Tyburn Academy.
To reach double digits, the Cobras scored five times in each half and took 45 shots overall. Toni Laneve led the way with a three-goal hat trick. Julia Freeman and Kennedy Yearby both found the net twice, with Jillian Firenze, Molly McInerney and Teresa Shattuck getting single goals.
In its opener, Manlius-Pebble Hill’s girls lost, 3-0, to Tully, a game that was 0-0 until the second half, when the Black Knights burned the Trojans thanks to goals from Jenna Bailey, Alexi Hamilton and Hannah Leva. MPH goalie Leandrah Shelmidine, under constant assault, made 18 saves to keep it from getting out of hand.
It proved more frustrating during Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Fabius-Pompey, where the Trojans got six saves from Shelmidine, but didn’t help her much as the Falcons’ Hailey Niles scored the game’s lone goal, assisted by Peyton Enderle. F-P goalie Rachel Scalisi stopped all four shots she faced.
Grimes was back on the field in Saturday, rolling past Pulaski 8-1. Yearby, Freeman and Laneve picked up two goals apiece, with support from Shattuck and Jordan Sloan, who earned single goals. Katy McInerney and Isabella Naylor added assists.
