Protecting the no. 3 state Class B ranking (behind only Schalmont and Oneonta), the Marcellus girls soccer team is not letting up as it charges into October.
The Mustangs proved this again in last Tuesday night’s 3-0 victory over Skaneateles, applying relentless pressure to pull away from the rival Lakers.
Midway through the first half, Marcellus seized a 1-0 lead when Madison Belvito fed a pass to the far post, where Lexy Bird headed it home. During a scramble in the 28th minute, Skaneateles goalie Mary Buck could not hold on as Jordan Wentworth, off a feed from Abby Fallon, made it 2-0.
Clare Manahan iced it with a second-half goal, assisted by Nellie Ramsden. And the Mustangs’ defense did the rest, limiting Skaneateles to a handful of chances as Margaret Choroser gained four saves.
Just as impressive, in a way, was what the Mustangs did Friday night, going to Cazenovia and, under the new lights at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, piecing together a 2-0 shutout of those other Lakers.
From start to finish, the Mustangs’ defense was sensational. The back line of Makenzie Felicia, Meghan Witkowski and Shannon Donahue never let the Lakers’ star forward, Kristie Klein, find any open space, and Choroser again only had to make four saves.
Filtch, meanwhile, solved Cazenovia’s goalie, Jamie Enders, who finished with nine saves. Not only did Filtch earn a goal, she assisted on Belvito’s tally as Molly MacLachlan got the assist when Filtch scored.
Westhill stepped out of league play last Monday night to face Carthage, and had to work hard for a 1-0 victory over the Comets.
Maggie Tripodi earned the game’s only goal in the first half, assisted by Emily Mizer. Westhill could get nothing else past Carthage goalie Haley Ryan, who finished with 12 saves, but the Comets were effectively shut down, too, unable to equalize.
Back in league play on Saturday, Westhill worked past Solvay 3-1, seizing the edge in the first half and pulling way in the late stages despite Bearcats goalie Julie Gardner making 11 saves.
Bishop Ludden, who has proved competitive in its debut in the OHSL Liberty division, proved that again in last Monday’s match against Solvay, where the attack never let up in a 5-1 victory.
The Gaelic Knights raced out to a 3-0 halftime lead and never got caught. Shelby Hunter, with a goal and two assists, led Ludden’s effort as Nicole Granteed scored twice.
Mersadiz Hayes and Kelly Byrne joined Hunter in the one-goal column, while in goal Gemma O’Kane turned away eight Solvay shots, only allowing Brianna Wieszczynski’s second-half tally.
Two days later, the Gaelic Knights lost 2-0 to Skaneateles. It was 0-0 until the second half, when O’Kane, who made five saves, gave up goals to Laker teammates Tate Green and Catie Woodruff.
Solvay, meanwhile, would gain its own win on Thursday, stopping Hannibal 4-2 by counting on a pair of players to account for the production.
Wiesszczenski backed up her two goals with one assist on a scoring play by Chelsie Delperuto, who also found the net twice. Theresa Gerard, Angela Frateschi and Kylie Avery each gained an assist. Three goalies – Julie Gardner, Corrine Scoville and Maria Leonardo – combined for 15 saves, eight of them from Scoville.
Jordan-Elbridge, 0-8 going into the week, finally made it to the win column last Monday afternoon, earning a 5-3 decision over Phoenix.
The Eagles’ attack proved successful early, inching into a 2-1 lead by halftime, and matched everything the Firebirds threw at them in the late going, too.
Alexis Rouse scored twice, while Brooke Reilley, Maddie Troia and Shannon Kelly each had one goal. Kali Kimak, playing in goal, made that lead stick with 10 saves.
