Each of West Genesee’s soccer teams found themselves taking the field for the first time during Labor Day weekend – and both of them would split.
For the boys Wildcats, trying to shake off years of struggles, the season kicked off with an appearance at the Canandaigua Tournament, where it finished third.
In Friday’s opening round, WG lost to Rochester McQuaid by a score of 4-1. Stefanos Stamoulacatos had his team’s only goal, in the second half, as Bojan Topalovic earned the assist.
Forced into Saturday’s consolation game against Newark, the Wildcats turned it around and won by that same 4-1 margin to get the third-place trophy.
Only ahead 1-0 at the half, WG got away in the late going as Stamoulacatos found the net twice to give him three goals for the weekend. Topalovic earned one goal and one assist as Jake Sutherland got the other goal and Kyle Burke got an assist, too. Dylan Condon recorded four saves.
Meanwhile, the WG girls soccer team opened at the Oswego Tournament and had the exact same result, turning a Friday defeat around.
The Wildcats ran into Rochester Mercy in the first round and was close for a while before taking a 7-1 loss. Kara Datellas scored off a feed from Erica Geremia in the first half, and only trailed 2-1 at the break before Mercy rattled off five straight goals in the second half.
WG then faced Oswego in the consolation game and got into the win column with a 2-0 shutout, the same margin by which the Buccaneers lost to Fulton in the first round.
Both goals came in the first half, as Paige Copeland and Melissa Fumano converted to put the Wildcats in front. Becky Brien and Nicole Bello earned the assists.
On Wednesday, each of WG’s teams took on Utica Proctor, who became an independent this season, moving out of the CNY Counties League.
The boys Wildcats found succes in its home opener, blanking the Raiders 3-0. Proctor had a fair amount of chances to get on the board, but WG’s defense offered a spirited resistance and Condon made 10 saves for the shutout.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats made steady conversions, leading 2-0 by halftime. Sutherland picked up one goal and one assist as Stamoulacatos scored again and Topalovic earned his second goal of the season. Kyle Golonski added an assist.
Out in Utica, WG’s girls lost to the Raiders 2-1. Emily Tripodi’s first-half goal helped the Wildcats forge a 1-1 tie, but despite a decided advantage in shots, it could not put anything else past Proctor goalie Frankie Palladino, who had 11 saves.
