With the regular season nearing an end, the Oneida and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill soccer teams looked for more wins – and in the case of the boys Indians, sought to strengthen its position going into the Section III Class A playoffs.
In a clash between the archrival Indians and Red Devils last Tuesday afternoon, a dramatic exchange in the late stages led to a 1-1 draw.
For much of regulation, it remained 0-0, the two defenses in firm control. But with less than eight minutes to play, VVS’s Kyle Renwick passed it to Eric Booth in the middle, and Booth’s 25-yard shot curved into the net.
Down 1-0, Oneida went all-out trying to even it, and nearly ran out of time. But with 25 seconds left, Connor LoMonaco ripped a low shot that Red Devils goalie Alex Rose could not get a grip on, leading Evan Cooley to charge in and put the loose ball in the net.
Twenty minutes of overtime could not settle matters, as Oneida went to 7-5-2 in the season and VVS moved its mark to 5-8-1.
A rematch followed on Saturday night – and with its playoff berth on the line, the Red Devils lost to the Indians 2-0 as Cary Reifschneider and Ben Adams got goals for Oneida, both of them converted off corner-kick opportunities.
Before all this, VVS got some help last Monday when it went to Utica-Notre Dame and shut out the Jugglers 4-0.
The Red Devils took a 2-0 lead by halftime, then kept going as Eric Booth produced a goal and two assists to lead a balanced attack. Chris Brunscheen had one goal and one assist as Bobbie Mumford and Chris Pawlikowski also scored. The Red Devils held UND to just two shots.
On the girls side, Oneida and VVS met on Tuesday with the Indians needing to win to keep its post-season hopes alive – but the Red Devils took the Indians out of playoff contention by earning the same 1-1 draw the boys had to settle for.
VVS took a 1-0 lead less than 11 minutes into the game as Jenna Miligy, off a strong feed from the wing by Brittani Edwards, put in the goal. Just two minutes later, Oneida evened it up, Jessica Goode getting the goal as Callie Lynch earned the assist.
From that point forward, it was a stalemate, with few good chances on either end. That remained true in the 20 minutes of overtime, though Goode nearly got the game-winner on a chance in the second OT that VVS goalie Leanne Doolen stopped.
A day earlier, Oneida met New Hartford and got a quick goal – then got a quick dose of reality as the Spartans beat them 5-1.
Goode converted less than four minutes into the game to put the Indians up 1-0. But New Hartford’s Rachel Zalewski tied it a minute later, and the Spartans added two goals late in the half to go ahead 3-1 at the break.
Oneida watched New Hartford pull away late, as Mia DeGironimo and Ashley Chanatry each finished with one goal and one assist. Erin Simmons, in defeat, made six saves.
VVS, on the same day, lost to Utica-Notre Dame 4-1, the only goal coming from Kailyn Terenzetti in the second half – but only after the Jugglers raced to a 3-0 lead. Doolen recorded 15 saves. Kate Durr led UND with one goal and one assist.
