One of the centerpieces of the Skaneateles boys soccer season is the annual Finger Lakes Cup, which takes place this Friday and Saturday at Arthur Hyatt Stadium.
This tournament draws a strong field, and in 2012 the Lakers will face Burke Catholic, the team it beat in the 2010 state Class B final, in Friday night’s opening round after West Genesee meets defending Section III Class B champion Clinton. The consolation and championship games are Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.
Of course, Skaneateles had to navigate through several OHSL Liberty division matches before this tournament, and needed a spark after a 1-0 home defeat to Westhill on Sept. 8.
The perfect tonic came in the Lakers’ next game, as it went to Jordan-Elbridge Monday afternoon and unloaded on the offensive side in an 8-0 shutout of the Eagles.
Scoring four times in each half, Skaneateles spread things around against J-E, as seven different players scored. Only Alex Brownlee found the net twice.
Eli Goodell, Tyler Strods, Austin Amory, Alex Weiss, Nick Palmer and Sean Farrell had one goal apiece. Strods, Kieran Daley and Mike Jorgensen each got two assists as Ryan Higman added his own assist.
Much the same thing was expected back home on Thursday night, against Phoenix, but the Firebirds were pesky and were in it for a long time before the Lakers got away in the latter stages and prevailed 4-2.
Phoenix’s Kyle Fisk proved an early pest, twice working his way past Skaneateles defenders and putting shots past goalie Erik Pola. Thus, despite a large edge in shots and opportunities, the Lakers only had a 2-2 tie at halftime.
But the defense tightened after the break, keeping Fisk and his teammates from anything, and Skaneateles moved back in front, paced by Brownlee, who scored twice and added an assist. Higman and Sam Clymer had the other goals, with Weiss, Goodell and Jeff Kringer gaining one assist apiece.
Aside from the Finger Lakes Cup, Skaneateles also has a key contest at fast-starting Cazenovia on Monday and visits Solvay on Wednesday night – in all, four games in a six-day span.
