Just one victory separates the Skaneateles boys soccer team from a return trip to the Section III Class B championship game.
From a no. 2 seed, the Lakers hosted no. 7 seed Solvay in last Friday night’s opening-round game at Hyatt Stadium, and with Jack Bailey proving unstoppable on the offensive end, Skaneateles turned back the Bearcats in a 3-0 shutout.
These same teams had met eight days earlier at Al Merola Staidium, Skaneateles prevailing 4-1. Here, much to Solvay’s dismay, the margin remained the same, only this time Solvay did not even get on the board.
As it worked through the game’s early stages, Solvay tried to establish its attack, but Skaneateles would not let them, and then caught a break when, taking a pass from Sam Clymer, a shot by Jack Bailey in the 13th minute deflected off a Bearcats player into the net.
That own goal was discouraging, but Solvay kept it a one-goal game until the last 90 seconds of the half, when Andrew Weiss, taking a feed from Bailey, fired a shot past Bearcats goalie Joe Reale, doubling the margin to 2-0 at the break.
And Bailey still wasn’t done. During the 64th minute, with Solvay’s attack continuing to be quiet, Bailey parked himself near the net, this time getting the well-timed pass from Eli Goodell before beating Reale for the night’s final goal.
A day later, the Lakers found out that it would face no. 3 seed Clinton in the Class B semifinals. Led by all-time leading scorer Gavin Gleasman, Clinton had eliminated defending sectional champion Westhill 3-1 in its sectional quarterfinal.
Now it’s the task of Skaneateles to try and contain Gleasman, knowing that a sectional final against top seed Cazenovia would take place, should the Lakers survive this test and those other Lakers get past General brown in the other semifinal.
