For the Jamesville-DeWitt girls soccer team to win a third consecutive Section III Class A title, it would have to get a third straight win over East Syracuse-Minoa this fall.
On consecutive days, they waged the Class A quarterfinals, ESM going first Thursday night at it hosted no. 5 seed Indian River, from the Frontier League.
Steeled by tougher competition, ESM put away the Warriors, 4-0, taking a long time to warm up in the chilly, wet conditions, but seizing control in the second half by getting three goals.
Things were spread around, too, as Amanda Wall scored twice, with Haley Wodarczyk and Caitlin Gagen getting the other goals. Alex McEachron, Julie Steinhauer, Kaitlyn Shaughnessy and Grace Maring each had one assist. Casie Auricchio stopped all six shots she faced.
Then, following a 24-hour weather postponement, it was J-D’s turn, taking on no. 9 seed Chittenango, who had blanked Cortland 2-0 in the first round and had lost to the Red Rams twice in the regular season by margins of 3-1 and 6-0.
The third meeting proved the most lopsided, as J-D demolished the Bears 7-0. Even though it had not played in more than a week, the Rams were far from rusty, jumping out to a 3-0 first-half lead and using its overwhelming attack to keep Chittenango backed up.
Veteran Tessa Devereaux and eight-grader Paige Sherling both managed to put up two goals and one assist. Jessica Holmes contributed a goal and two assists, while another eighth-grader, Allie Balotin, scored a goal, as did Emily Elbers. Victoria Roney contributed an assist.
Now it’s J-D (16-0-1) against ESM (10-6-1) in the semifinals. They met twice in the regular season and the Spartans stayed within a respectable distance both times, though the Rams won 2-0 on Sept. 27 and 3-1 on Oct. 20. The winner here gets Fulton or Whitesboro in the sectional final.
