Given all the build-up, it had to be a small disappointment to all the fans gathered at Swan Pond Friday night that the Fayetteville-Manlius and Cicero-North Syracuse boys soccer teams settled nothing.
Instead, the 0-0 draw offered up by the Hornets and Northstars left everyone wondering what would take place if there would be a rematch — perhaps with a Section III Class AA title on the line — in early November.
They both came in undefeated — F-M at 11-0, CNS at 11-0-1 — and both possessed deep, potent attacks that could spring up and score bunches of goals without much provocation.
But they also had seen plenty of each other during the fall, so secrets were few. Plus, each defensive side had a lot to do with the deadlock that would ensue.
In the Hornets’ case, that meant a much-maligned back line would step up. Seth Teplitsky, Joe Mahr and the rest of F-M’s defense did a solid job of containment, and any time a shot went on the net, Ken Chapman picked it up, the young goalie earning nine saves.
Just the same, through 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime, nothing the Hornets tried on the offensive side worked, either, as Dan DeBottis got eight saves.
As this was going on, the F-M girls team, following up its impressive win over Auburn two nights earlier, went to CNS and blanked the Northstars 2-0.
This was the same CNS squad F-M lost to on Sept. 11 at Swan Pond, but the Hornets showed just how much had changed in a month’s time.
The two sides played through a 0-0 first half in wet, soggy conditions that still proved better than the winds F-F-M dealt with in the Auburn game.
F-M’s pressure against CNS goalie Chelsea Dunay (who made 11 saves) paid off in the second half, when Julia Reagan and Brenna Kincaid both pushed in goals, while Danielle Kennedy and Danielle Straub got credit for the assists.
Having moved to 8-4 on the season, F-M’s girls get another key measure of itself in Friday’s visit to defending Class AA champion Baldwinsville – just as the boys Hornets entertain the Bees at Swan Pond.
