Following their head-to-head meeting at LeMoyne College on Sept. 17, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool boys soccer teams remained in the spotlight.
For the Northstars, that meant taking on unbeaten Nottingham Tuesday night at Gillette Field, a game that had plenty of suspense before CNS worked past the Bulldogs 2-1.
Right from the start, the Northstars’ defense hung back, determined to neutralize Nottingham’s speed up front. For a moment, that backfired when, in the 14th minute, Azmir Hisic’s long cross from the left side got headed by CNS player into his own net.
Down 1-0, the Northstars quickly tied it six minutes later as, off a long free kick from Alex Wilson, Logan Roberts sent a low shot into the net. And it remained event at 1-1 deep into the second half, even though CNS, with its deeper roster, began wearing the Bulldogs down.
In the 56th minute, Rob Spenard put the hosts in front, tipping in Roberts’ cross from the right. Despite several chances, CNS could not add to the lead, and Nottingham kept it suspenseful right until the end.
Wilson, along with Drake Garner and Rocco Lattanzio, played sound defense for much of the night, but it was goalie Charlie Willard diving to stop Almedin Bektic’s point-blank attempt with 2:45 left that preserved the win.
As this was going on, Liverpool, who had lost 3-1 to CNS in that game at LeMoyne, went to Fayetteville-Manlius and managed to play the Hornets to a 0-0 draw.
Comfortable on F-M’s new artificial turf field, the Warriors went through 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime without allowing a goal. Mike Milligan, Kyle DeAngelis and Josh Yager played superbly on the back line, and Karl Miller stopped all 10 shots he faced.
Both teams would win on Thursday night, as CNS blanked Oswego 4-0 and Liverpool put together a 5-2 victory over Henninger.
Unlike with Nottingham, the Northstars took charge quickly against the Buccaneers, leading 3-0 by halftime. Darren Cooper found the net twice, with Lattanzio and Eric Roundy earning the other goals. Roberts finished with two assists.
Liverpool got off to the same 3-0 first-half start against Henninger, meaning it could withstand the Black Knights’ late offensive surge. Leo Rubio and Mike D’Agostino both had two goals and one assist, while Brandon Horton also converted. Taylor Groginski and Bojan Anastovski ahd one assist apiece.
Now the Warriors (2-3) rested for a week before its own game at Nottingham Thursday, while CNS gears up for a second shot at F-M (who beat them 1-0 in the Sept. 10 final of the Optimist Tournament) Tuesday, followed by a Thursday visit from West Genesee.
