A pair of early defeats left the Jamesville-DeWitt boys soccer team in an urgent mood going into Thursday night’s game at East Syracuse-Minoa.
That urgency, and a desire to partially atone for the way the 2011 season ended, helped the Red Rams as a late offensive surge produced a 3-1 victory over the Spartans.
Every J-D veteran remembered that, last fall, a chance at back-to-back Section III Class A titles got thwarted when the Red Rams lost, 1-0, to ESM in the semifinal round – a defeat made more painful by the fact that the Spartans eventually won the sectional title and reached the state final four.
However, a shot at redemption appeared unlikely, since J-D had just taken back-to-back losses to Fowler and Homer, and ESM had started fast, including a 1-0 win over Christian Brothers Academy just two days before the Rams showed up.
Having struggled so much on the offensive side this season, J-D had to feel relief when, early in the first half, Jordan Van Stry scored, giving his side a 1-0 lead that would hold up the rest of the half.
Less than five minutes into the second half, ESM pulled even, 1-1, as it earned a free kick and, from 25 yards out, Emir Avdakovic launched a hard shot into the top of the net.
That was all J-D goalie Nate Sturgeon would allow. Sturgeon, back from an injury that sidelined him for a couple of games, and the rest of the Rams’ back line would face all sorts of tests, but hold up.
With 12:13 to play, it was still 1-1 when J-D built a challenge in front of ESM goalie Cameron Schiavone. Twice in a span of seconds, shots went off the goal posts – one left, one right – but Mike Mulvilhill, who took the second shot, got it back and, with Schiavone out of position, put in the go-ahead goal.
Barely two minutes later, the Rams pushed again, and it led to Adam Resetarits gaining the insurance goal. ESM could not recover, taking its first loss of the season.
Perhaps the Spartans were a bit tired from what had taken place against CBA.
Against a fast and aggressive attack, the Spartans resorted to the defensive style that proved so effective in the team’s 2011 title run. Wherever the Brothers went, an ESM player followed, allowing for little free space.
When it attacked, the Spartans got frustrated, too, as Brothers goalie Mike Smith earned seven saves. But in the second half, one shot, by Dan MacDougal, slipped past Smith, as Cole Belcher got credit for the assist and ESM had the margin it needed.
As J-D was exacting its revenge on ESM, CBA was also playing, against Cortland, and used a big first-half surge as the foundation for a 4-2 victory over the Purple Tigers.
So frustrated against the Spartans, the Brothers did not let up once it broke through in the early going against Cortland, roaring to a 4-0 lead in those first 40 minutes.
Matt Marzocchi led the way, earning a goal and two assists as Andrew DePerro found the net twice and Paul Civello also scored. Matt DePerro and Steve Castellini earned one assist apiece.
Cortland tried to rally, getting second-half goals from Chase St. Louis and Scott Schenkler, but CBA had enough of a cushion as three goalies – Mike Smith, Greg McCann and Ethan Wiley – combined to make six saves.
