Jayanna Monds perfectly timed her run in the waning moments of Saturday’s wet, cold, windy girls soccer battle between Westhill and Cazenovia. Or she was offsides by several yards.
The only thing that matters was that no whistle was blown and Monds, with just 10 seconds to play in overtime, put home the decisive goal as the state Class B no. 3-ranked Warriors edged past the state no. 8-ranked Lakers 3-2.
It brought a crashing end to a rousing contest that matched their first encounter in late September, which also went to overtime and also was taken by Westhill, 2-1, at the Sean Googin Sports Complex when Cazenovia held the no. 2 spot in the state rankings.
Since then, the Warriors had not lost, while the Lakers had suffered one setback (a 3-0 defeat to Marcellus earlier this month), and the pair had emerged as the favorites for the Section III Class B playoffs that get underway next week.
And that led to the rematch, played amid the rawest conditions of the season. The wind constantly blew and the rain started and stopped throughout the afternoon, and that had much to do with the timing of the game’s important sequences.
With the rain still falling late in the first half, Cazenovia’s Saige Ackermann sent a low shot to the net that Westhill goalie Ariana Heneberry mishandled, the ball finding its way into the net for a 1-0 Lakers lead that held until halftime.
But it wasn’t raining early in the second half, and Westhill, gaining the wind advantage, pounced. Less than 90 seconds into the half, Monds, off a long feed from Erin McMullen, charged in and easily beat Cazenovia goalie Maggie Johnson to tie it, 1-1.
Less than four minutes later, when the Lakers had trouble clearing the ball out of the area in front of the net, the Warriors’ Dana Radin forced a turnover and quickly shot it past Johnson to put Westhill in front.
Even with that, and even though Cazenovia barely could get an attack going, it pulled back even, 2-2, in the 57th minute when Audrey Burbidge, bottled up by constant double teams all game long, broke free up the middle and waited for Heneberry to run out and challenge before sliding a shot into the net.
Despite frequent opportunities on both ends, that tie would endure, through the end of regulation the first 10-minute overtime. The second OT saw Casey Crawford’s free kick get stopped by Heneberry with two minutes left, and it looked like a draw.
Only Monds had other ideas. Just as the clock was ticking down, she spied a long pass heading her way and, with a teammate, broke toward the Lakers’ net. Cazenovia’s defenders, expecting an offsides call, didn’t chase her, and Monds gathered in the ball, dribbling in and sending it past Johnson as the Warriors celebrated and the Lakers looked on in disbelief.
In order to make the Cazenovia game more meaningful, Westhill first had to negotiate through those other Lakers, from Skaneateles, for the second time in eight days, and did so, controlling matters from start to finish, even though it only won by a 1-0 margin.
Quite unlike the 2-2, back-and-forth battle with Skaneateles on Oct. 7 at Hyatt Stadium, the pace was slower, in part due to the fact that both teams had played the day before, and in part due to a steady, hard rain that fell most of the afternoon.
Westhill controlled the flow of play, adjusting its defense and rarely letting Skaneateles find any open space. That led to constant pressure on the Lakers’ end and a series of off-target shots.
Then, less than a minute before halftime, Jayanna Monds timed a pass to the middle that Katelyn Karleski took in, and when Skaneateles goalie Sophie Kush ran out to meet her, Karleski slipped a shot that trickled into the unoccupied net.
All through the second half, Westhill made sure that one-goal margin held up, applying lots of offensive pressure to keep the ball out of its own end. Though Henneberry made nine saves, she didn’t have to make any low-percentage stops.
Just 24 hours before the Skaneateles rematch, Westhill found itself facing Jordan-Elbridge, and it didn’t take the task lightly, rolling past the Eagles 7-1.
Attacking all game long, the Warriors had 27 shots. Though Leah Wright and Mia Arms had a combined 20 saves, Westhill still converted often as Dana Radin scored twice, with Tatiana Monds, Sam VanBuren, Abby Stack, Erin McMullen and Catherine Doherty getting one goal apiece.
As that went on, Sknaeateles played, too, beating Solvay 4-1. Camille Devereaux’s second-half goal, assisted by Chelsie Delperuto, prevented a shutout, but the Lakers already had a 3-0 lead by that point, overcoming Samantha Waters’ nine saves.
Thus, the Bearcats had to wait until Thursday’s game at Jordan-Elbridge to clinch a playoff spot – which it did, defeating the Eagles by that same 4-1 margin to get to the 7-9 mark it needed.
During a late-game surge, Solvay put it away by seeing Delperuto, Nicole Antonacci, Katie Harrington and Gianna Pennisi earn one goal apiece. Antonacci added an assist, as did Waters, who also put together 13 saves. Alexis Braun managed J-E’s lone goal, assisted by Rylie Parker, with goalie Mia Arms earning 18 saves.
Solvay, as the no. 11 seed, would meet no. 6 seed Holland Patent Tuesday in the opening round of the sectional Class B tournament, while Westhill, getting the no. 2 seed (Lowville is the top seed), has a bye and awaits a quarterfinal against no. 7 seed Sherburne-Earlville or no. 10 seed APW.
