A regular-season landmark for Jamesville-DeWitt’s girls soccer team was games against two other defending Section III champions, plus another established powerhouse, in a seven-day span, and by the end of it, plenty of concerns were raised.
Baldwinsville, who went to the state Class AA championship game in 2015, took on J-D Sept. 3, and though J-D was at home, it had a difficult time with the Bees’ attack, especially in the first half, which made the difference in a 4-2 defeat.
The Red Rams are accustomed to controlling possession and not letting an opponent organize too much on the other end. That didn’t happen here, though, as B’ville got goals from three different players and, by halftime, enjoyed a 3-1 advantage.
J-D never caught up, though Alex Catanzarite and Grace Dimkopoulos picked up goals. Emma Silverstein had six saves. On the Bees’ side, Simone Neivel, Katie Pascale, Abby Smith and Kelsey Delola picked up goals, with Mackenzie Schaffner joining Pascale in the assist column.
Trying to bounce back from a rare regular-season blemish, the Rams ventured to Westhill last Tuesday night, and rallied late, only to get victimized again on defense, this time by Warriors senior Jayanna Monds, who carried her team to a 3-2 victory.
Almost by herself, Monds would get the Warriors going against the Red Rams, scoring twice in the first half. Still, J-D hung tough and, trailing 2-1 late in the second half, put in the tying goal – only to have Monds find the net again with nine minutes to play.
The Warriors hung on from there, Erica Gangemi having assisted on two of Monds’ scoring plays and Morgan Elmer also getting an assist. J-D lost despite goals from Catanzarite and Lainey Foti, mainly because Westhill goalie Bella Lavigne made eight saves, three more than Rams counterpart Emma Silverstein.
Having dealt with rare back-to-back defeats, J-D took on reigning sectional Class B champion Marcellus on Friday night, bent on avoiding a third consecutive defeat. It did so, combining effective defense with timely scoring plays to shut out the Mustangs 2-0.
Marcellus had only played two games so far, shutting out CBA and Homer. But J-D provided a far more difficult examination, especially with the constant pressure it put on the ball, which is normally a Mustangs trademark.
Everyone on the Mustangs’ defense faced quite a task containing the Rams’ explosive and experienced group of forwards. Somehow, it kept things within range most of the night, with goalkeeper Grace Coon making 12 saves.
The problem, though, was that the Mustangs rarely broke that pressure, taking just four shots. So when J-D did find the net, it proved decisive as Sophia Dimkopoulos netted one goal and assisted on Foti’s goal. Elena Haarer assisted on the Dimkopoulos tally.
J-D’s pace doesn’t let up this week, either, with three more games on the docket, starting Tuesday at Homer, continuing Thursday at home against Fulton and reaching its peak Saturday with a trip to Camillus to face Class AA contender West Genesee.
Back on Aug. 26, Fayetteville-Manlius had lost its season opener to J-D at Swan Pond. More than two weeks later, the Hornets returned to the field Saturday and took a 1-0 defeat to Chenango Forks (Section IV) at the Wright National Soccer Complex in Oneonta.
Between them, Hornets goalies Sabrina Suriani and Elana Paolini made nine saves and kept the game scoreless until the Blue Devils netted the lone goal in the second half.
