Everyone on the West Genesee boys soccer team knew that Thursday night’s visit to Cicero-North Syracuse provided a chance to move up the ladder of major Class AA contenders.

It turned out in a mixed manner, though. Following a bad start, the Wildcats did catch up to the Northstars, but could not quite pass them as the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

All looked bad in the first half. CNS, fuming after a loss to Fayetteville-Manlius and with top midfielder Rob Spenard back in the lineup (he had missed the F-M game), jumped out to a 2-0 lead, Darren Cooper and Logan Roberts coming up with the goals.

Once WG’s defense shut down Cooper and Roberts in the second half, though, it started to claw back. Stefanos Stamoulacatos and Jake Sutherland put home unassisted goals, tying it, and it would remain that way through 20 tense minutes of overtime. Dylan Condon finished with seven saves.

When 6-1 Utica Proctor visited Camillus last Tuesday night, the Wildcats engaged in a tense battle, but were saved by Stamoulacatos and Sutherland in a 2-1 victory over the Raiders.

Neither side scored in the first half, but Proctor got on the board with Dan DeLoach’s goal in the second half.

However, WG countered by twice seeing Stamoulacatos beating Raiders goalie Refik Begic, in each instance getting a timely pass from Sutherland. Condon, with his five saves, kept Proctor from pulling even again.

This leads to another big contest Monday night, when WG (5-3) hosts unbeaten Fayetteville-Manlius, who currently sit at no. 2 in the state Class AA rankings.