An overtime defeat at Baldwinsville on Sept. 18 and a loss to Shaker a day later did not concern the Liverpool girls soccer team too much, especially since it would get a second chance against the Bees at home less than three weeks later.
But the Warriors did plunge from no. 7 to no. 19 in the state AA poll. To start climbing back, it had to assert its dominion over other rivals, especially Cicero-North Syracuse, who arrived at LHS Stadium last Thursday night mired in a four-game skid where it had not scored a single goal.
Liverpool made it five shutouts in a row, beating the NOrthstars 2-0, and it was a special occasion on several fronts.
Two days before the loss to B’ville, on Sept. 16, Liverpool had beaten Fayetteville-Manlius, which gave head coach Kevin McGrane his 100th victory at the Warriors’ helm, against just 30 defeats and seven draws, a run that has included three Section III Class AA titles in the last four years.
But that milestone took place at F-M, so it wasn’t until a week later that Liverpool, along with its soccer Booster Club, got to recognize McGrane, along with assistant Nikki Murphy and JV coach Jeremy Weller, for their collective efforts.
Despite the festivities, Liverpool didn’t forget about the game, where a desperate C-NS side kept it 0-0 through the first half, largely due to the work of goalie Marissa Catania, who finished the night with eight saves.
Staying patient, the Warriors broke through in the second half thanks to Carli Kovarik, who netted one goal and assisted on the other, by Meagan O’Neil. Defensively, Liverpool was sound all night, limiting the Northstars to four shots that Julia Richey scooped up.
That C-NS drought had continued in last Monday’s 3-0 defeat to F-M, where again the Northstars had plenty of opportunities to get on the board, but could not convert any of its seven direct shots at Hornets goalie Sabrina Suriani.
In the meantime, the Hornets’s Cassie Hemmer continually burned C-NS defenders, scoring twice in a span of less than four minutes of the first half and then adding a third goal in the second half for the hat trick. Sally Trop and Alexa LaRocca each got assists.
Liverpool, meanwhile, played last Tuesday at Auburn, where it was close for a long while before the Warriors took over in the second half and defeated the Maroons 3-1.
Ally Nicolisi’s work in the net, along with a goal from Bridget Moore, had Auburn even with Liverpool, 1-1, going to halftime, but led again by the Kovarik sisters, the Warriors scored twice in the last 40 minutes.
Carli and Brianna Kovarik each had a goal, with Carli contributing an assist. O’Neil earned the other goal as Julia Richey finished with five saves.
Once done with each other, Liverpool and C-NS each had non-league games on Saturday – and the Northstars not only broke its long scoring drought, it also beat Section II Guilderland by a 2-0 margin, with both goals coming from Ciera Murphy in the second half.
Liverpool, for its part, struggled with Whitesboro, but still claimed this Warrior clash 1-0. This also was a 0-0 game in the second half before O’Neil assisted Carli Kovarik on the game’s lone scoring play. Whitesboro goalie Jordan Upson had a terrific performance, earning 12 saves.
On Wednesday night, Liverpool visits West Genesee before going to Fayetteville-Manlius Friday and playing a tournament in Oneonta on the weekend – where C-NS is going, too, but only after playing Auburn and Baldwinsville this week.
