Now the Skaneateles boys soccer team has welcomed each of the other main OHSL Liberty and Section III Class B contenders to Hyatt Stadium, and emerged from those games with a 2-0-1 mark, of which it could feel proud.
A tie with Westhill and win over Marcellus was already in the books when state Class B no. 23-ranked Cazenovia arrived last Tuesday afternoon, turning this warm afternoon into a hot, tense affair which lay in doubt until a couple of nice bounces in the second overtime produced a 1-0 victory in this Laker duel.
Other than the game’s opening minutes, Skaneateles spent large portions of this game in Cazenovia’s end, probing everywhere, but getting few close looks, at least in the first half, so it stayed 0-0.
And the second half was scoreless, too, with Skaneateles continuing to attack, yet not getting anything past Cazenovia goalie Thomas Bragg, who was on his way to 10 saves for the afternoon.
So it was scoreless heading into the pair of 10-minute overtime periods, a place where Skaneateles hadn’t found success this season, tying both Westhill and New Hartford. When, near the end of the first extra period, Skaneateles just missed out on the game-winner as Bragg stopped Reggie Buell’s header, familiar frustration set in.
As the second OT wore on, though, Skaneateles kept earning set pieces, and finally got the game-winner when a corner kick bounced around the crease until Matt Neumann, situated at right post, poked a rebound into the net before Bragg could find it.
Armed with momentum from that win, Skaneateles hosted Solvay Thursday and got past the Bearcats 3-0, a game that might have turned more lopsided were it not for Solvay goalie Joe Guadagnolo, who picked up 13 saves.
Despite this, Skaneateles gained a 2-0 advantage by halftime and wouldn’t need to go beyond 80 minutes. Luke Palmer had one goal and one assist, with Dylan Viscomi and Christian Daley also finding the net. Neumann and Tristan Custer picked up one assist apiece,
Then it was time for the Lakers to travel to Oneonta’s Wright National Soccer Complex for a weekend tournament, where in the opening game it had yet another draw, ending up 0-0 with Clarke, from Long Island.
All game long, Skaneateles found itself under attack, but through regulation and a pair of OT periods, the defense managed to keep Clarke off the board, and Evan Goldmann earned 13 saves for the shutout.
Then, after the trip to Oneonta was done, it was on to Marcellus Monday for a rematch of the 3-0 win over the rival Mustangs just nine days earlier, followed by a Wednesday trip to Westhill to settle matters after they tied 1-1 earlier this month, and finally the Finger Lakes Cup at week’s end where Skaneateles meets St. Francis (Buffalo) in Friday’s opening round.
