Once the bad weather got out of the way, soccer teams from Manlius-Pebble Hill and Bishop Grimes started seeing each other on a regular basis.
And no game meant more than Saturday’s girls showdown between the Trojans, no. 2 in the state Class C rankings, and Cobras, no. 8 in that same state poll.
What was supposed to be a showdown, though, turned instead into a showcase for Grimes forward Alex Guhin, whose stellar play sparked the Cobras to a 3-0 shutout of the Trojans. Two different times on set plays, Guhin fired the ball past MPH goalie Sammy Appleby into the net.
The Cobras led 1-0 at halftime and pulled away in the late going, helped also by a defense that shut down all of the Trojans’ chances. Grimes goalkeeper Jillian Firenze stopped all eight shots she faced. The two sides meet again Oct. 20 in the regular-season finale.
Before all this, the Cobras played twice, making it eight in a row last Tuesday, against Fabius-Pompey, where a late getaway led to a 5-0 victory over the Falcons.
Only the work of F-P goalie Melissa Dow, who finished with 11 saves, kept the game within 1-0 in the first half. After the break, the Cobras’ deep, balanced attack wore the Falcons down.
Alex Guhin, with one goal and one assist, led the way. Five different Grimes players – Guhin, Julia Freeman, YoonJi Lee, Ellen Callahan and Teresa Shattuck – put in those five goals, while Stephanie Lasnicki, Erin Kilpatrick and Jillian Firenze each had one assist.
MPH, meanwhile, tuned up with a 5-1 win over Pulaski last Tuesday afternoon, steadily getting away after building a 3-1 halftime edge.
Terry Netusil scored twice, with Alexa Melendez-Martineau, Jessica Gavigan and Allison Turner also earning goals. Lizzy Dean, Vicky Gregory and Katie Blanford each had one assist. MPH, overall, took 24 shots to the Blue Devils’ four.
As a follow-up on Thursday, MPH ripped past Cato-Meridian 7-1, quickly bolting out to a 4-1 halftime edge as Netusil, with a goal and three assists, led a deep and dangerous attack.
Gregory was the only Trojan player to score twice. Blanford, Gavigan, Annie Simmonds and Michelle Bevilacqua each joined Netusil in the one-goal column, while Martinez-Melindeau managed an assist.
Grimes also made it through its last tune-up, topping Onondaga 5-2. This was Kennedy Yearby’s show, as she put up a three-goal hat trick for the Cobras, most of it in the first half, while Madison Dougals and Seanna Laneve each had one goal and one assist.
It was the boys Trojans and Cobras that got together first, for last Monday’s game at Grimes. It was all MPH in this instance, as a quick start, and the passing skills of Gerrit Church, led to a 4-0 shutout.
Already, the Trojans led 3-0 by halftime, and Church was responsible for it. Three different times, Church’ deft passes led to goals, and he scored the other MPH tally.
Solomon Ochieng benefited the most from Church’s generosity, earning two goals, while Albert Blanck also had a goal. Combined, Grimes goalies Dan Ostaszewski and Clemente Rufo were quite busy, with 21 saves between them.
Grimes went from there to a 1-0 overtime defeat to Cato-Meridian on Wednesday afternoon. Ostaszewski made eight saves, but The Blue Devils’ Dan Peckham sneaked the decisive goal past him in the first OT period. None of the Cobras’ 13 shots made it past Cato goalie J.W. Serafini.
In Friday’s play, MPH got another shutout, this time 3-0 over Bishop Ludden. Constant pressure took a toll on the Gaelic Knights as the Trojans broke out of a 0-0 deadlock by getting all of its goals in the second half.
Luke McQueeny, with one goal and one assist, led the late surge, with Ochieng and Chris King also finding the net. Church and Blanck also had assists. Goalie Cal Dougherty recorded nine saves as MPH improved to 6-3 on the season.
